Bitter Sweet Occurance
by Shadow Master
Summary: With the end of the Hunter's Moon a new saga Begins
1. The first night of a new life.

"Bitter Sweet Occurrence" Ryley Breen at rybreen@theberries Admin Normal Admin 2 2001-11-07T16:45:00Z 2001-11-07T16:45:00Z 8 4595 26193 JTB 218 52 32166 9.2511 800x600 0 0 

"Bitter Sweet Occurrence" Ryley Breen at rybreen@theberries.ns.ca

Note: I have already read several stories centered around the cartoon Gargoyles and have loved everyone. I especially like the ones where Elisa and Oberon's children are included (especially Puck).That comedian among immortals is always good for a laugh or two. In the following story I will explore what may happen in a future episode that would change Elisa and Goliath's relationship forever. This takes place after the final part of the series "Hunter's Moon" (mostly because of the fact that it gives me more freedom to write). Well I hope you enjoy what I have written and I would appreciate any thoughts you may have on it. Oh and if you like it please email me and tell me what you think. If this were on television (which if Buena Vista checks out this home page it may someday be) it would show scenes from "The Mirror" episode" where Elisa is seen as a gargoyle as well as scenes from"Hunter's Moon" showing Demona with the praying gargoyle as well as the tablet. Well enough of the chit chat, on with the story.

**_"Bitter Sweet Occurrence"_**

Night was falling in New York and the creatures of the night both good and evil arise from their hiding places in the shadows. Most of these creatures are considered to be law breakers but there are a few that strive to uphold the law and protect. It is true that the people of this city now see them as a menace to be wiped out, these creatures of myth and legend protect this city regardlessly. Some would think that these winged warriors of the night must be very lonely but fortunately they have human friends that believe in them and would do anything to protect them. This fact has yet to be given limits but in the coming days/nights Elisa Maza is about to discover for the first time how much she is willing to sacrifice for her friends, for her Gargoyles.

**_Sunday 6:55pm New York _**

"Why is it that I feel like a cat in a dog pound?" thought Elisa to herself as she walked up the stone stairs to the ramparts. 

She had been uncomfortable that Goliath and the rest had returned to Castle Wyvern. She'd been even more surprised that Xanatos would allow them to live at his corporate headquarters. With all the trouble that they had caused them in the past,Elisa half expected Xanatos to be laying some sort of villainous scheme to get revenge on them. Goliath seemed to trust Xanatos's promise of the Castle being their home once again and that was enough to relieve her worried mind. 

"Then if I trust Goliath's judgment why am I upset so much"asked Elisa as she reached the top of the steps. 

It was probably because of the way he had been acting the past couple of nights. She had seen a rage in him that she had never seen before. Goliath Had been acting more and more like Demona in his growing hatred of humans. She hoped that it would fade away in time but it still worried her. 

"Well no time to ponder that now, I'd best put on a cheerful face or Goliath will worry" thought Elisa as she watched the sun set. 

As the pitch dark blackness of night began to once again cover the city a sense of foreboding rose around the tower. A feeling of impending eruption of power, a feeling of awe as the sounds of crumbling stone filled the air.As Elisa watched this she couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement fill her being. 

"No matter how many times I see this it is just as magnificent as the first time" thought Elisa with a slight snicker.

Goliath sprang from his stone sleep with a mighty roar. Elisa wondered how many people may have heard that down below at the base of the Xanatos building. 

Goliath smiled as he saw Elisa standing behind him. He was so happy that she was alive and not dead. The night before had been a roller coaster of emotions for him. First filled with happiness that Angela was survived the attack by the Hunters, then overrun with rage at the destruction of the clock tower and Elisa's apparent death, then overjoyed to discover that she'd survived.From here on he promised that he would never allow his emotions to endanger her again. 

"Glad to be back in your home?" asked Elisa as she walked up and patted him on his muscular back. 

"Yes, to walk along the walls of the place where I hatched and to know that it is once again mine" said Goliath as he gazed over the courtyard. 

"Well the others seem to like it, Broadway is already gone to the kitchen and the others are giving Angela a guided tour of her ancestral home" remarked Elisa as she saw the last of them skitter into the castle. 

"Yes, perhaps now our lives can return to normal" , said Goliath with a chuckle, "whatever that is" .

"Well don't be too happy Goliath, you still have a bit of a problem" ,remarked a voice from the stairs, "you still have to deal with the anti-gargoyle frenzy that is sweeping the city" . 

When they looked to see who had said that they frowned as David Xanatos came up the steps. They were still a bit cautious around the multi-billionare, even though he had probably saved their lives the night before. 

"As you know thanks to the broadcast by the rogue member of the "Hunters" , every person in the city will be coming after you" he said as he stood not a foot away from Goliath.

"He's right you know, now it will be much more dangerous for you out on patrol" Elisa said as she looked at Goliath's grim face. 

"I suppose you are right. I'll be sure to inform the others of this too before they go anywhere" sighed Goliath. 

"Speaking of patrol I'd best go on patrol myself, people might begin to wonder why a cop is hanging around the Xanatos building so much" said Elisa as she walked toward the staircase.

"I'll come with and we will patrol together" suggested Goliath as he put his hand on Elisa's shoulder. 

After nearly loosing her before Goliath refused to risk it again. 

"I don't think that would be wise Goliath.Given the current crisis it would be better if you were not seen with Detective Maza" ,interjected Xanatos, "if anyone sees you two together they may label her as a traitor and give her extra trouble" . 

Goliath let out a low growl at this statement and probably would have begun yelling at Xanatos but fortunately Elisa stepped in. 

"Goliath, as much as I hate to admit it he may be right" , said Elisa holding Goliath by the shoulders reassuringly, "Don't worry, in a little while this will all blow over.Besides, I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself" . 

With that she trotted down the stairs and was gone. Little did the fair Elisa know that on this night she may live to regret her choice. 

*********************

The interior of Demona's house was a complete mess that night. She had torn it apart the night before after her defeat at the hands of Goliath and his clan. She had been so close to finally getting her revenge on the puny humans, then Goliath had to go and ruin it for her. Demona was also mad at the fact that Goliath had apparently returned to his naivete on the human race. If he had kept this up a bit longer Goliath and herself could have been reunited. The thought of having a potential companion being ripped from her grasp infuriated her. It had been a while since Thailog had died and she once again felt the emptiness of solitude creeping into her soul.Since her defeat she had begun to plan her next attempt at destroying humanity(Is that all she ever thinks about?). She could thing of nothing until she remembered an article from yesterdays paper. 

There was a new exhibit at the museum of natural history that intrigued her. Apparently the museum archeologists had uncovered a priceless artifact from Norway.It had been identified as the mythical sphere of Titania. "Hmmm, this has definite potential" thought Demona with a slight grin. According to legend it was a source of incredible power and almost limitless in its applications. If she could retrieve it from the museum who knows what she could do. She might very well be able to achieve her ultimate goal, the complete destruction of the human race. As that thought passed through her head another one brought itself to the surface and a sinister smile came across her face. 

"I could even get rid of that pathetic human Elisa Maza and retrieve my beloved Goliath" thought the rogue gargoyle. 

"Yes that is what I'll do and then the world will be free of the cancerous human race"exclaimed Demona. 

Without another word she jumped out the window towards her destiny. Then again when it comes to destiny and Demona you know it can't be good.

************************** 

"Halapania" sighed Elisa as she came to an intersection. 

It had been rather difficult adjustining back to the night shift timetable after being posted to the day shift for awhile. Truth be known she kinda liked the day shift while it had lasted. To feel the sun's warmth all day instead of just at dawn and dusk as was the norm. Don't take it wrong, she liked the night shift and all but some nights she wondered why she even bothered.Already she was beginning to feel her stamina begin to wear down, Elisa almost thought that she would fall asleep at the wheel. She had already had three plastic cups full of coffee but even that was losing it's effectiveness. It was already three AM and and she had another another three or four hours to go. Unfortunately her inner desires got thrown aside as Elisa saw the all too familiar shadow of a female gargoyle glide by in front of her. 

"I wonder why Angela left the castle, she should know that it is pretty dangerous to be seen right now" , thought Elisa. 

As she pulled over to the side and looked up her jaw dropped to the ground in shock. The look of shock quickly fled from her face and one of worry and bitterness replaced it. 

"Demona!" moaned the young Detective. 

"What are you up to now" thought Elisa as she sped off in pursuit of the Demon. She followed Demona for a few blocks until she saw the winged form land atop the roof of the museum.Elisa knew that it would take Demona only a matter of minutes to find what she was looking for, given the fact that Demona usually planned her crimes rather carefully. She was then faced with the choice of calling for backup and risk Demona escaping or go in now and risk possible death. In the end there was only one true decision, she had to go after Demona now or else risk her getting away with a possibly powerful artifact and adding more fuel to the anti-gargoyle fire. 

When she finally got inside the museum she could easily hear the sound of Demona trashing the security systems and glass cases. 

"Not being to smart are we Demona?" mumbled Elisa as she took out her handgun. 

It wasn't hard finding Demona with all the noise, she seemed to be in the Norse section of the museum. 

"What could she possibly want with a bunch of Norse artifacts", wondered Elisa, "surely the artifacts here don't have any magical abilities or she would have stolen them sooner" . 

Then she remembered her eventful trip to Norway and a sense of dread saturated her body. When Avalon's magic had sent them there they were pitted against the Norse god Odin. At first it seemed that they would be able to keep the bearded goat bay but he proved to be far more cunning then they realized. Odin soon took her hostage and told Goliath that if he wanted her back that he must hand over the eye of Odin. From there on in things became very strange but soon came to an end. The thought of something like the eye in Demona's possesion was reason enough to pick up the pace and hope that she wasn't to late. As she approached the doorway of the Norse wing if the museum she could hear Demona beginning to chant something. The smell of brimstone and the sensation of power filled the air. Elisa peeked into the room to see Demona holding a large sphere-like crystal glowing in her hands. 

"Uh-oh"whispered Elisa as she gazed upon the crystal sphere. 

It was like looking into the sun and not having to turn away after a bit. It didn't take a genius to know that this thing was powerful and if Demona got away with it the whole world would be at risk. At first glance the only visible option was to try and grab it away from Demona and get away from her as quickly as she could. Unfortunately there was another option that her sense of logic urged her to do. It told her that she should go back to her car and get back-up but by then Demona may escape. 

"It's amazing how seldom I listen to my logical side" thought Elisa with a grin. Taking a deep breath she decided on the first course of action. At nearly break neck speed the unique detective ran toward Demona and rammed her shoulder into Demona's back. The gargoyle sorceress, stunned from the blow stumbled forward and had thrown the sphere into the air. Elisa jumped as high into the air as she could, not wishing the unknown energies in the orb to be released. As it was about to land in her hands a small feeling of dread swept over her body. It was if her entire body was nothing but a skeleton swinging in the wind. It could only be described as being her own self-preservation instincts screaming a warning, but the warning had come to late. Energy blasted from the magical antiquity as wave crashed onto Elisa's skin.Suddenly the energy changed shape became a long cylinder of energy and was directed at Elisa. Elisa, completely unprepared for the onslaught,screamed a glass shattering scream as pain filled her entire body. This was far more painful that anything that she had ever been through beforehand considering what she had been through the last couple of weeks it frightened her. As the darkness of the museum began to surround her and cover her she began to cry at an inaudible level. 

"I'm dying" , thought Elisa as her thoughts became harder to form, "and I'll never see Goliath or the others again" . 

Then she lapsed into an unconscious state and Titania's sphere dropped from her hands and rolled to Demona who was slowly recovering her senses. 

****************************

"Uhh what happened" moaned Demona as she got to her feet. 

Her back was aching from the blow that her unknown attacker had dealt her. As she gathered her thoughts she felt a smooth pearl-like round surface bump into her taloned feet. Looking down she saw Titania's sphere glowing at her feet, seeming to beckon her to pick it up. Wondering what had happened she gazed around the room and froze the moment she saw the glowing and floating mass of energy in the air. It was like a cocoon, a cocoon that would soon open and release its gift of beauty. When she took a closer look her eyes widened in delight. 

"Well, well maybe this night is turning out better than I planned" , sneered Demona, "I get to gain unimaginable power and destroy the focus of Goliath love all in one night" . 

Suddenly the magic surrounding the unconscious human began to grow brighter and shot off small lightning bolts of energy. At that moment the devious smile that was once on Demona's cruel face changed to one of fear. Something was happening,something quite disturbing. Not knowing what was about to happen, Demona grabbed the sphere off the ground and ran to the sun roof which she had used to gain access. 

"I don't know what's happening but I'd best get out of here" thought Demona as she gazed back to the doorway leading to the Norse exhibit. 

All that she could see was the light of the magic growing brighter by the second. Not wasting another minute she jumped onto the roof and flew away. Had she looked back she would have seen light bursting out of almost every window then vanish.

**************************

Dave Sampson had worked the beat for quite a while and came to believe that there was nothing he couldn't handle. He thought that the rumors of mysterious happenings were nothing more than stories that the other cops told to keep life interesting. He was completely astounded when he saw what had happened at that old abandoned church a few nights ago.Gargoyles, things that he thought were nothing more than foreboding waterspouts, fighting it out with mercenaries in high-tech gear. He hadn't seen much of it since he was mostly occupied with keeping a crowd of people away from the battleground. The entire crowd was out for gargoyle blood after the WVRN news team had blamed the gargoyles for the destruction of the abandoned clock tower and damaged the lower floors of the building. Of course Dave knew that there was absolutely no evidence of this, which upset him a bit. The only thing linking the gargoyles to the explosion was that they were in the same spot as the explosion and were seen flying away from the tower. Even at the protests by one Detective Maza and Captain Chavez,the Mayor ordered that a Gargoyle assault team and equipment designed to deal with the threat would be created. Sampson knew that the Mayor was only doing this so that the public wouldn't go hunting for the gargoyles themselves. "I hope that they at least give these Gargoyles a chance to explain themselves and not shoot first" thought Sampson. Suddenly his radio came to life and brought him back down to earth. 

"Car 102, car 102,break in and possible arson at the museum of natural history. Please investigate" spoke the dispatcher. 

"This is car 102, ten-four" spoke Sampson as he put his siren on and sped off to the museum. 

For a moment Dave wondered what he would find when he arrived. 

******************************

Elisa's eyes opened slowly as life returned to her limbs. As her eyes focused she immediately wondered what had happened to her. She tried to get to her feet which was no easy task considering she ached all over and found it hard to think straight. After a bit of straining she was able to get to her feet and immediately noticed that something was different about herself. No sooner did she look down then she saw taloned gargoyle feet where her previously five-toed feet had been. She was shocked at what she was seeing and leaned against a wall for support. 

"Halapania, not again"moaned Elisa. 

Once more she was in the tan brown and black gargoyle form.Her scarlet red coat was gone and as she felt her back she discovered that her black T-shrt had been rewoven to accommodate her Brooklyn-like wings.She had once before been transformed into a gargoyle by the trickster of Oberon's children. Now Elisa was once more a Gargoyle but this time she had some mixed feelings about it. Half of her was saying that she should try to find a way to return to her human form, while the other half said to accept this new form and hold on to it for dear life. It wasn't at all easy to think at the moment so Elisa was unsure if she should trust her thoughts. She wasn't sure what she was going to do until she heard the sound of an approaching squad car. 

"Can't allow myself to be seen" ,thought Elisa" it would only worsen the public image of gargoyles if one was seen fleeing from a crime scene and make things harder for Goliath and the rest. Slowly she made her way to the front door and hoped that she would be able to get away before the cops arrived but she wasn't very optimistic. The pain in her legs was almost overwhelming, she felt that any second that she would collapse. As she approached the doorway she could hear the squad car come to a screeching halt outside. 

"Damn" she muttered. 

Now she would have to try and escape from the police and if he gets much as a glance of my current gargoyle body then the shit will really hit the fan. Summoning up all her strength and folding her wings over her shoulders Elisa bolted out the entrance way. 

***************************

As Dave approached the museum he was temporarily blinded by a flash of light and he felt as though someone had taken a mug shot of him.Miraculously it disappeared a split second later and all was dark once again. It didn't take long for his eyes to readjust to the change in light and this was good because otherwise he may have accidentally driven himself off the road. 

"What was that" gasped Dave. 

It looked like someone had set a gas truck on fire but only a green light was produced by the blast.Curiosity and anticipation fueling his spirit Sampson floored the accelerator. As he approached the museum parking lot he saw what appeared to be a female gargoyle flying away from the scene of the crime. 

"Oh boy"sighed Dave. He hoped that that was the only one because from what he heard these things could take on an entire S.W.A.T team. For a minute the thought of getting some back-up here flashed through his mind but with such flimsy grounds for such a call he decided against it. As he pulled up to the front doors he saw yet another gargoyle like figure bolt from the front door. Not wasting a second Dave went off in pursuit of the figure seeing as how it was the only lead to the perpetrator. 

"That's weird, I'm barely breaking a sweat and I can catch up fairly easily" , pondered Sampson, "I thought these things were supposed to be tough" . 

As he began to gain on the creature he noticed that it seemed to be struggling with every stride.

"Hmmm, it being injured would certainly explain why it is so easy to keep up with it" , thought Dave, "must be pretty bad" . 

Suddenly he was yanked back to reality by the fact that he saw the gargoyle begin to stumble and slow down. 

**********************

"Won't....m-make...it" mumbled Elisa as she struggled to stay on her feet. 

She felt terrible but even so she knew that she had to continue to run or she would feel more than her share of pain from being a laboratory specimen in some military lab. She was barely maintaining any distance between her and the cop and she knew that she couldn't keep it up for very long. Somehow Elisa had to lose the cop behind her without hurting him.Maybe I can get back into the museum and hide in there until he leaves.

"I'll have to push myself to the max if this is going to work" thought Elisa. 

Drawing on her dwindling stores of energy she put all her might into one final burst of speed. Unfortunately her new body was quick to inform her that it was completely void in terms of energy as she soon collapsed with a thud onto the green grass. Even though Elisa knew it was futile she tried to force herself back to her feet but her limbs twitched and spasmed in response. She could hear the officer coming up behind her and repeatedly tried to move but it was no use. Once again the blackness stripped her of her vision and every car horn and every alarm began to fade away. The last thing that she saw was the officer bending over her with a concerned look on his face. 

********************

"Uh-oh whatever was wrong with this gargoyle, I have a funny feeling it just got a lot worse" thought Dave as he gazed down on the feminine form before him. 

He kneeled down to take the pulse of the bestial beauty that was laid out before him. The pulse was fairly strong for now but he could feel it slowly weakening. 

"Better call this in before this one bites the big one" , mumbled Sampson as he took out his radio, "Car 102 to dispatch,I have a injured suspect in need of immediate medical assistance" . 

"Roger car 102, please describe the suspect and estimate the persons injuries"squawked the dispatcher over the radio. 

"I don't quite know how to say this but she's a female gargoyle and I estimate her injuries to be severe electrocution and muscle strain" , spoke the officer with an unsure look on his face, "there may also be some severe bruising" . 

"Car 102 please repeat the appearance of the suspect, I don't think that I heard you right" spoke the dispatcher in an obvious tone of puzzlement in her voice. 

"You heard me, and injured five foot nine female gargoyle" , said Dave as he continued monitoring the gargoyle's condition, "I know it sounds crazy but that's all I see" . 

"All right car 102, the ambulance is on the way please keep the subject alive until it arrives" said the lady dispatcher. 

Dave was a bit upset that she had referred to the gargoyle as "Subject" as if it were some sort of laboratory specimen. True he wasn't in any position to argue with her, seeing as how the second the beautiful gargoyle was stabilized she would probably be sent off to some research facility. 

"Oh well, there's nothing much I can do about it" thought Dave. 

The most he could do was perhaps file a strong protest against such action. Looking down on at the face of the suspect Sampson couldn't help feel as though he had seen her once before. It took about five minutes for the ambulance to arrive and the gargoyles pulse was weakening. When the medic from the ambulance got close to enough to see the winged woman his jaw dropped to the ground. This was perfectly acceptable given the fact that only a select few people have ever seen a gargoyle up close before. Unfortunately time was of the essence if they wanted to save this one. 

"Quit gawking man, this... lady needs some serious help" yelled Dave as he grabbed the medic by the shoulder. 

This snapped the awed man out of it and he began to survey for himself the state of the bizarre form before him. The man was still shocked at the sight of the taloned beast but appeared to be able to do his job. 

"L-looks like severe electrocution all right we had better get to the hospital fast." said the medic as he began to run to the ambulance to get the stretcher. 

After getting her into the ambulance and calming down the startled driver they were on their way. 

As the medic finished putting an I.V into his patients arm he turned to Dave and asked" Do you have any idea what happened to...her" . 

"Not a clue but from what I remember there was a flash of light that came from the museum when I arrived" said Dave not taking his eyes from the unconscious gargoyle. 

"That could mean electrocution but nothing in the museum could generate that much power unless the...lady somehow did it to herself" spoke the medic with a questioning look as he placed an oxygen mask over the mouth of the gargoyle. 

"Nah I don't think so, she seemed plenty concerned about her life when I saw her" , said Sampson, "I guess we won't really know what happened at the museum until either I look at the security video tapes or she wakes up". 

They arrived at the hospital five minutes later and could see that some of the top doctors in the hospital were waiting for them. They put the limp form onto a gurney and raced her into the hospital. Sampson could hear them fire back and forth medical terms and also terms of amazement at the rare find before them. Soon they rushed her into an intensive care unit and would not allow Dave to go any further. 

"Officer Sampson" said a voice from behind him. 

When he turned around he saw Captain Chavez hobbling up to him on crutches. After the attack on the prescient house the Captain was banged pretty good so it was a surprise to see her walking around much less involving herself in a case like this. 

"Captain, I thought you were supposed to be taking it easy" said Sampson with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. 

"When I heard over the police scanner that a live gargoyle was on its way here how could I resist coming down here to see it" said Chavez, who was apparently looking around for the gargoyle. 

"If you are looking for the gargoyle the doctors have it in the intensive care unit" said Sampson looking in the direction of the door that he had seen the doctors wheel the strange creature into. 

"How badly was it injured?" asked Chavez with a slight look of concern on her normally calm face. 

"It looks although it somehow got a couple hundred volts shot into it but it should be alright" replied Dave as returned his gaze to the Captain. 

"Hmmm, I'm going to get the riot control team down here. If word gets out that there's an injured gargoyle here there is no telling what may happen" said Captain Chavez. 

"Right, I'll stay here in case the gargoyle wakes up" said Dave.

With no more than a nod they went their separate ways, unaware of a mysterious figure in a trench coat had been listening in on their conversation. 

*************************************

Owen sighed as he finished the latest court document concerning Mr.Xanatos' rescuing of the gargoyles a few days ago. It may end up costing Xanatos Enterprises quite a bit in the way of investors if they should happen to believe that WVRN broadcast. He knew that his employer would manage to find a rather convenient excuse for his actions but that would at most keep the majority of the investors with the company. Suddenly the phone rang and when Burnett looked at the phone he saw that someone was calling him on his secured line. 

"Hmmm, Mr. Xanatos didn't notify me of any special projects being staged tonight" he thought to himself with a eyebrow raised. 

He considered calling Mr. Xanatos at the Wayne Foundation party but decided against it. No doubt they were having a good time and besides he didn't want to disturb him without just cause. Owen picked up the phone and hoped that this wouldn't be a waste of his time. 

"Mr.Burnett you wont believe what just got wheeled into the hospital" , said the in informent," they just pulled in a living gargoyle" . 

"Are you sure?"asked Burnett with his usual unmodulated tone of voice. 

"Without a doubt sir. It was a female gargoyle and this may sound funny but it kinda looked like that cop Maza" said the informant excitedly. 

"Very good. I shall inform Mr. Xanatos of the situation, you just keep an eye on the gargoyle"ordered Owen. 

"Hmmm, what a delicious diversion! Who knows what games the trickster Puck could make of this development" thought Owen as he reached for the phone once more. 

Suddenly three shimmering silhouettes appeared before him and soon were revealed to be the Weird Sisters. 

"An assignment we have for you" said the black haired one. 

"One that you must not fail to do" said the blonde. 

"To find Titania's sphere you must" said the silver haired. 

"To fail is to lose Oberon's trust" said all three in unison.

Upon the conclusion of the rhyme a green mist enveloped Owen and when it dispersed Puck was in his place. 

"You three are definitely one of the more bizarre of my sisters" , spoke Puck in a sarcastic manner, "but then again that's hardly uncommon to a Fey" . 

The sisters made no response to this only continued their gaze at Puck. 

"Yeesh, daddy must have really socked it to you three after your run around with Goliath's clan" , said Puck with a small smirk, "I bet he has you cleaning his castle as small monkeys".

The three sisters merely stood there, like stone statues, which is exactly what they acted like most of the time. This time the comical changeling did react but instead of a smile it was a frown. 

"Fine be that way. I would only be too happy to accept this assignment" , said Puck, "there is just one small problem, I am forbidden by Oberon to use my abilities except in the teaching of young Alexander" . 

"Your powers are now free......" said the blonde. 

"But only temporary they are to be....." said the black haired one.

"For you are too wild....." said the silver haired one. 

".....even for an Oberon child." said them all. 

Then in a flash of light all three of the mysterious maidens vanished. 

"One thing I must admit they do make up terrific rhymes", said Puck, "Well I had best get to work before daddy has a fit" 

*********************************


	2. You're a gargoyle now, deal with it!

"Bitter Sweet Occurance" Chapter 2 Normal Admin 1 2001-11-08T15:22:00Z 2001-11-08T15:27:00Z 3 4420 25197 JTB 209 50 30943 9.2511 800x600 0 0 

"Bitter Sweet Occurance" Chapter 2

By Ryley Breen AKA Shadow Master (rybreen@theberries.ns.ca)

"Ohhh, halapania" moaned Elisa as she opened her eyes. 

She felt a bit better but still felt as though she went ten rounds fighting Oberon. As she brought her hand up to rub her face she was partially relieved and partially scared when she found out where she was. Elisa was happy that she was in a hospital instead of a jail cell but the fact that she had been captured by the police didn't exactly make her feel comfortable. The door then opened to reveal a doctor who was accompanied by the officer who had been chasing her and CAPTAIN CHAVEZ. 

"Uh oh, if she recognizes me I'll have a lot of questions to answer!!" thought Elisa in panic. 

The officer obviously saw her panic and said "Easy we're not going to hurt you, we just want to ask you a few questions". 

Elisa knew that she would be spotted immediately by Chavez if she spoke normally so she decided to give her imitation Scottish accent a try. 

"Well o.k, if ye must" said the Scottish Elisa. 

They seemed fooled enough but she would have to wait a bit to make sure. 

"First of all what were you doing at the Museum of Natural history?"asked Chavez. 

"I was nae trying to steal anything if that's what ye mean", replied Elisa, "I had spotted a rogue member of my clan breaking into the museum and had glided down to investigate" . 

"What were you doing in the area?" asked Sampson. 

"It was a part of my nightly patrol schedule, my clan and I go out almost ev'ry night on patrol" , replied Elisa, "Though quite frankly I was amazed that Goliath had allowed me to go out at all considering all the hoopla over our old home being blown up" 

"The clock tower was your home?" asked Chavez with one eyebrow raised in surprised.

"Aye, we had made a home of it a little over a year ago" , said Elisa, "We had lived at Castle Wyvern before that but its owner made it too dangerous for us to live there so we had to move" . 

"Hmmm, that would explain a few of the disturbances around there" , said Chavez, "Do you have any idea who was responsible for the attack on your home?" 

Elisa knew she had to seem angry at this question or they might become suspicious. 

"Aye, I know those butchers. They have hunted down and killed my kind for a thousand years!", Elisa said as her eyes glowed a crimson red, "they nearly killed my daughter and nearly destroyed my clan!" 

At the sight of her glowing eyes both of them backed up a bit before regaining composure. 

"How did this feud start, I mean there must have been a reason?" asked Sampson. 

"It began with the rogue member a thousand years ago" , said Elisa as she allowed her eyes to return to there normal shade, "she had apparently maimed a young lad who thereafter vowed to hunt down and kill every last gargoyle". 

"A thousand years ago?! That's impossible" , said Chavez, "nothing lives that long". 

"By natural means no, but Demona is far from natural" , said Elisa with a angry grin, "It was she who betrayed my rookery brothers and sisters to the Vikings in 994 A.D" . 

"How could she have lived back then and still be here now?" asked Sampson. 

"A group of magical beings called the Weird sisters formed a magical bond between Demona and the human Macbeth" said Elisa as she looked at the clock,"thanks to that, she cannae die unless Macbeth kills her or vice versa" .

"Magic!? You must be joking, there is no such thing as magic" said Sampson with a smile. 

"I'm sure that up until a few years ago you thought that gargoyles were only stone statues" said Elisa with a snide smile. 

There was a brief pause and after looking at the near-dawn indicating clock she decided to take advantage of it. 

"If ye don't mind, ye'll have to wait 'till sunset before ye can ask anymore questions" said Elisa as she turned her head to look out the window. 

"Why!?" they both asked. 

"Just wait until the sun rises above the horizon and you'll see" said Elisa as she sat herself up. 

Almost as if on cue the sun peeked up and the once flesh and blood gargoyle turned to stone. 

"What the..." said Sampson. 

Both the officers and the doctor stood there, amazed at what they had just witnessed. 

"This is definitely a peculiar turn of events" , said Chavez, "I'm going to get a few S.W.A.T people guarding her, in case any disgruntled citizens try anything" . 

"Captain you don't honestly believe what she said" , asked Sampson, "she could be lying about what she was doing at the museum to avoid arrest" . 

"Perhaps but even if half she says is true it is in our best interests to keep her alive" said Chavez. 

With that they both left the room, leaving the stone beauty to sleep. Little did Chavez know that keeping the gargoyle safe was not going to be as easy as she had hoped. 

***********************************

"That puny Elisa Maza is finally dead" , laughed Demona as she looked at the sphere in her hands, "torn from existence by you, my lovely little orb of power" . 

She was overjoyed at this turn of events. Things would definitely be easier with her gone, not that she was afraid of the human.Only because now Goliath and his puny clan won't discover what she is up to until it was too late. 

"By the time I'm done with you the human race will be no more and gargoyles will be given their rightful place as rulers of the world" said Demona as she placed the sphere into her wall safe. 

She then walked into her living room , with a wide smile on her face, to watch the television news to see if the humans had grasped the dire trouble their lives were put in. When she turned to the news there was mention of a break in at the museum but there was also something else that she hadn't expected. According to the reporter, police had captured a gargoyle and were holding "it" for questioning. 

"What?! There were no other gargoyles there when I robbed the museum" , thought Demona, "the only other person who was there was....". 

Suddenly a look of pure anger fell onto her face and she let out a yell. 

"Maza isn't dead, that annoying human survived !" yelled Demona. 

Without warning a sly smile came to her face and she let out a loud laugh. 

"This could could actually be to my advantage" , thought Demona, "not only will Maza keep the humans out of my way but she should also take care of Goliath" . 

With that she sauntered out of the room still giggling at the thought of how much trouble Maza would be in and at how easy her plan had become. 

******************************

"So Mr. Xanatos what do you think?" asked Owen in his usual neutral tone.

For a while David Xanatos said nothing, he simply gazed at the closed door across the room. 

"This may be a problem, especially if a riot starts" ,said Xanatos with his hands steepled in front of his face, "we should try to get Maza out of there as soon as possible" . 

"Sir, doing so could risk losing even more favor with our investors" , said Owen, "15% alone have filed complaints and have threatened to 'wash their hands of Xanatos Enterprises' all together" . 

"They couldn't leave even if they wanted to Owen, they all owe me considerably large 'personal' debts" , said Xanatos as he looked up to Owen, "Still I suppose I we should retrieve Detective Maza in a more 'formal' way" . 

"Might I suggest asking the police to place her in your custody for 'scientific' research" asked Owen. 

"Excellent idea Owen though we'll have to do it after sunset so that there will be less risk to Maza" said Xanatos as he reached for the phone. 

"As you wish sir. Should I inform Goliath of the situation when he wakes up?" asked Owen. 

"No, if he discovers what has happened to Maza and what a predicament she is in now he would undoubtably want to forcibly rescue her. People might get a bit jumpy if seven aggressive gargoyles land in front of the Hospital" said Xanatos putting his feet on his black desk. 

*******************************

"Things are getting nasty out there Captain" said Sampson as he took a worried look out the front doors. 

A fairly large crowd had gathered outside the hospital and was yelling for the gargoyle to be handed over to them. 

"I know, they aren't to happy with us given how we handled the gargoyles the last time" said Chavez. 

"If that crowd gets any more violent they might storm the hospital to get to her" said Sampson. 

"I know, lets just hope that that gargoyle is strong enough to run when she wakes up"said Chavez. 

"Run!? Captain you can't be serious, the Mayor would have our hides if we let the gargoyle go" exclaimed Sampson. 

"We have no evidence to connect her to the break-in that would hold up in court" , said Chavez as she looked at her watch, "and if the Mayor can't accept that I would be glad to explain it in detail to him" . 

Before any more could be said her cellular phone rang. 

"Chavez here" said the worried Captain.

"Ah, the esteemed Captain Chavez" , rang Xanatos' joyful voice, "I hear that you have a gargoyle in custody" . 

Chavez quickly swore under her breath and said" It was supposed to be kept a secret but yes we do have a gargoyle in custody!" . 

"Oh don't worry Captain, we're on a secured line", said Xanatos, "I just called to offer my companies assistance in disposing of it". 

"If by 'disposing' you mean killing it, I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you" said Chavez with a hint of bitterness. 

"Captain,Captain, Captain, I was merely was suggesting that we put on a bit of a show for the rather dangerous crowd in front of the hospital" , said Xanatos, "Make them think that we are not showing any favoritism toward these gargoyles" . 

"Assuming I allow this, what to you have in mind?"asked Chavez. 

"I thought that I would have a few of my robot security guards show up, put some high-tech manacles on the gargoyle and fly away with it", explained Xanatos, "after which you will state your position on the gargoyles, that way the gargoyle doesn't get harmed and you regain some public support" . 

Chavez knew that Xanatos was a tricky and clever man, he knew that much from what Elisa had told her. He never did anything unless there was something to gain. Why would he help a lone gargoyle? To make an army of them or to experiment with them. Either way she looked at it she had no other choice but to play along. The crowd outside was getting meaner by the minute and there was no way that they could get the gargoyle to safety by car. 

"All right Xanatos we'll play it your way" , said Chavez with a defeated sigh. 

"Thank you Captain, have the gargoyle ready by seven-thirty and my robots will pick her up then" , said Xanatos in a happy tone, "oh and Captain I suggest you keep a close eye on the gargoyle, the locale citizenry is out for blood" . 

***********************

"A pinch of this and a dash of this and I make a cake you cannot miss"said Puck in a melodious tone. 

He loved the fact that he had been given more freedom concerning his powers. It had been so boring since daddy Oberon had restrained his powers. Sure he had a few minutes fun with Coldstone and those three souls but that was nothing compared to what he could have done with all his powers. Already he was dreaming up schemes of subterfuge to put into motion once Alexander's teaching was done. Most of them were inspired by the current situation, that being Maza and the sphere. 

"I wonder how she and Goliath would react if Maza stayed a gargoyle" thought Puck. 

Suddenly a voice from behind him said" I hope this isn't the extent of your efforts Puck". 

He whirled around to see the fair lady Titania standing (or floating) in the doorway. 

"Actually yes, for the time being" said Puck as a piece of cake floated up to him on a plate.

"What do you mean?" asked Titania as she raised an eyebrow. 

"Xanatos is about to free Maza from the hospital" , said Puck as he floated upside down, "Once that is done its only a matter of time until they deliver your sphere right into my hands". 

"What does Maza have to do with this?" asked Titania. 

"Why don't you know? Your sphere changed her into a gargoyle again" , said Puck with a light chuckle, "and from what I hear Maza is not too pleased". 

To this Titania said nothing, she only stared at him with a questioning look on her face. 

"You know that look is really starting to annoy me" , said Puck with a frown, "You and the Weird Sisters should try something a bit more original". 

Without another word Titania disappeared.

"I'm glad she's gone" , Puck with a groan, "Now back to the cake!".

Suddenly without warning he fell to the floor and changed back to Owen.

"What the.." said Owen with a hint of Puck in his voice. 

Suddenly the cake flew off the table and right onto Owen's face. Then the air filled with the laughter of Titania as Owen sat up and wiped the cake from his face.To this type of joke you would expect him to laugh but a trick isn't fun at all if your the one who usually does the tricking. With a pronounced frown Owen pushed up his glass' and left the kitchen. 

*****************************

Slowly the sun sank beneath the horizon and night once more emerged. Inside the room the officers simply stared at the stone statue in the bed.They had been ordered to guard the gargoyle in custody but when they entered the room they were a bit mystified when they found a statue instead. Little did they know what beneath that gray exterior lied a warrior that would make Superman run for cover. As the darkness caressed the feminine form the stone gargoyle cocoon began to crack and with one eruption outwards the female gargoyle roared into the land of flesh and blood. 

"Ahhh, nothing like a full days hibernation" said Elisa as she stretched. 

The officers hadn't moved an inch since just before sunset,they just stood there with their mouths open. It only took Elisa a moment to notice their dumbfounded looks and it made her laugh. 

"Come on guys surely ye have seen stranger things than this" she said as she took the tubes out of her arms and got out of the bed. 

The awakened gargoyle streched her rested muscles, all the while letting out noises associated with a cougar. In an effort to seem less intimidating to them she folded her wings over her shoulders and smiled at them. This did loosen them a bit as they began to close their mouths and move again but they never took their eyes off her. 

"Well that's a start" , thought Elisa with a smirk. Elisa then thought, " this would be a great opportunity to secure some friends in the NYPD for the gargoyles". 

All she would have to do is try and show them that gargoyles aren't a bunch of savage creatures and that they are almost the same in terms of culture and custom. Just then Chavez came in and was a bit surprised herself at the way that the men were looking at the gargoyle. 

"O.k men the show is over, go out and help keep the mob back" said Chavez. 

Slowly they began to walk out but not before taking one last look at the former statue. 

Elisa was a bit disturbed by the sound of a mob outside. 

"What's this I hear about a mob?" asked Elisa.

"Well given what happened to the clock tower a few days ago and your appearance here, the people are a touch afraid and a touch angry" , said Chavez, "and that can make a dangerous combination". 

"I know, but as m'love always said' it is human nature to fear what they dinnae understand'" said Elisa. 

"Sounds like your love is a very wise gargoyle" remarked Chavez as they left the hospital room. 

"Aye he is, but he has a nasty temper. Fortunately he keeps it under control most of the time" said Elisa as she remembered how Goliath had looked at the church a few nights earlier. 

She had never seen such raw fury on his face before. With such fury inside of him Elisa thought that she would be hard pressed to find anyone who would even try to stop him. When she looked back at Chavez she saw the Captain staring at her with a puzzled look on her face. 

"What is it, is there a wee bit 'o' stone still in my hair" said Elisa with a smile.

"No, it's just that you look remarkably like one of my detectives" said Chavez quickly looking away. 

"I guess I just have that kind of face" said Maza with a chuckle. 

After hearing this Chavez began to laugh as well, though hers was somewhat more restrained. If only it was this easy for humans and gargoyles to get along. 

**********************************

The sun had set just a few minutes ago and Goliath was still perched high upon his stylized rampart. He was worried about Elisa, not because he thought that she couldn't handle herself but because she hadn't come to see him after her shift ended and she hadn't come after sunset that night. He tried to reassure himself with some rational excuse like "she's probably working undercover" or "maybe she decided to spend time with some of her cop friends" . None of this seemed to help, he still felt as though she may be in some trouble. 

"Nonsense, she's probably just late getting here", thought Goliath, "probably stuck in rush hour traffic" . 

He remembered how he recently he had thought her dead, only to later find out that she was alive and well. Another thing that kept making its way into his thoughts was the way he had felt when he thought Elisa was dead. He felt as though his life had just been shattered, like there was nothing left of him but a brittle shell. He had not felt like that for many years, 1000 to be exact. When he returned to Castle Wyvern to find his clan destroyed and his angel of the night destroyed he felt as though he had died too. His entire purpose for living wiped out. He was a gargoyle and his purpose was to protect, yet he had failed to protect the one thing that he treasured the most : family. From that moment on he vowed to never again allow another life be destroyed as long as he lived. He hoped that another moment like the massacre or Elisa's "Demise" would never happen again. Suddenly the low humming of gears and the clanking of steel on stone brought him back to the present. He turned around to see Xanatos in his steel clan armor and two other steel gargoyles coming out into the courtyard. This obviously peaked his curiosity and he swooped down to the courtyard and landed in front of Xanatos. 

"Where are you off to Xanatos?" asked Goliath, trying to keep the slight bit of distrust from showing.

"I'm going to pick up some very important cargo from Manhattan General" said Xanatos as he placed the helmet on. 

"For that you need your battle armour and two of your steel plated robots, I find that hard to believe" said Goliath with a 'yeah-right' look. 

"There are some rather...'angry citizens' who would very much like to destroy the cargo" said Xanatos in a digitized voice. 

"What could be so negative so as to motivate people to attack a hospital?" thought Goliath. 

Before he could get an answer from the armored man Xanatos and his steel clan robots took off leaving Goliath with a lot of unanswered questions. 

"Hmmm, I had better follow him" thought Goliath as he jumped to the top of the castle walls and off after Xanatos. 

***********************************************

"Xanatos?!" exclaimed Elisa. 

From what Chavez had told her Xanatos was coming to 'escort' her away from the hospital in his steel clan suit along with two steel clan robots. That was not the kind of news she wanted to hear, especially with the crowd outside. The locals are already suspicious of Xanatos after what happened at the church incident. With the crowd as hyped as they were the presence of those robots might push the people into a riot. She knew that Xanatos would probably try and go a reasonable distance to save her but she was unsure as to just how far that distance was. 

"Yes, I thought he was a friend of yours" , said Chavez, "Given the way he saved your clan from the church a few days ago" . 

"I prefer to call him an aquaintince, we haven't always been on the same side" said Elisa as she took a long gaze out the window at the mob behind the barricade. 

"How so?" asked Chavez with an eyebrow raised. 

"He was the human who awakened my clan a few years back" , said Elisa, "then tricked us into stealing top secret files from Cyberbiotics" . 

This perked a reaction from Chavez. 

"So it was your clan that broke into the installations" , said Chavez, "were you the one who destroyed fortress one?" 

"No, it was the rogue who did it!" , said Elisa in a panicked fashion so as to seem edgy. 

"Easy, I was just wondering" , said Chavez as she put a reassuring hand on Elisa's shoulder, "I didn't mean to upset you" . 

"Tis okay, the last couple of years have been rough and given me little reason to try to trust many humans" , said Elisa, "I was just afraid that ye would be just another one to check off the list of possible friends" . 

Chavez seemed to buy that and that meant that her little project-trust was working. If all went well the only thing that Goliath and the others would have to worry about are citizens taking pot shots at them. Not that it would be easy to avoid being shot at since most of the contact that the gargoyles had with humans was in trying to save their lives. Suddenly she heard the familiar engine whine of the steel clan robots. Looking out the door she saw two gray steel clan robots and Xanatos in his red steel clan exo-frame. 

"Hmmm, Xanatos must feel that this is important if he is running the show himself" thought Elisa. 

When she saw Xanatos begin to enter she noticed that none of the people outside didn't look too upset. This made Elisa let a sigh of relief, now they had a half decent chance to get out of here without starting a riot. As the red armored figure approached she immediately turned her eyes a bright red, bared her fangs and let out a low but threatening growl. 

"Easy my dear, despite my past encounters with you I won't hurt you this time" said Xanatos. 

"I'll believe that when I'm safe and sound back home Xanatos!" said Elisa as she ceased her growling and covered her fangs but kept her eyes a scarlet red. 

As if he hadn't heard that remark he took a pair of high-tech hand-cuffs out of a compartment in his armor. 

"In order to insure that the crowd outside believe what they're seeing, I'll need you to put on these electromagnetic manacles" said Xanatos as he opened them up and held them up to Elisa. 

In a reluctant fashion Elisa raised her arms and placed her wrists into the manacles. They clamped down with a electronic beep and Elisa and Xanatos began to walk to the front doors. 

*****************************

Goliath had been up on the building across the street trying to figure out the problem that had plagued him since he had left the castle after Xanatos. He could find no real answer other than the possibility that one of his pet projects had gotten loose and eventually fell into the hands of the police department. This disappointed Goliath, he had thought that with the birth of his son that Xanatos would start to value life a bit more. Whatever he had created was obviously very important to him to risk revealing his own personal robotic army. The two steel clanners had taken up strategic places near the front entrance outside the hospital. Just as he was about to ponder the mystery once more he noticed that the steel clan robots were preparing to leave as they moved to a safe distance from the building. Staring at the hospital doors Goliath saw something that he hadn't seen in a long while. It was Elisa, not in her usual human form but rather in the gargoyle form that she had once before been in during the Puck problem. At first he wanted to glide down to talk with her but he knew that it would only upset the group of people behind the police barricade. Upon a closer look Goliath saw that Elisa was wearing some sort of restraints on her arms, obviously they had been provided by Xanatos.Goliath was a bit angry that restraints had been placed on Elisa but he knew that it was just to keep the crowd happy. 

Suddenly a voice shouted out from the crowd "There's the freak! Lets kill it, destroy that scum".

That yell was repeated by the majority of the crowd and was immediately followed by gunfire from a number of the onlookers. Immediately looking to see if Elisa had been injured he was relived to find that as soon a the human in the crowd had begun yelling Xanatos had stepped in front of Elisa.She would be safe from behind there but unfortunately the local police weren't faring to well. They had been caught flat footed by the mob and had already taken heavy casualties as the mob tried to charge past them to get at Elisa. Even with help from Xanatos' robots they would not last long. Without another thought he swooped down and grabbed one of the gun-carrying crushing his shotgun and scaring him half to death with aloud gargoyle battle cry. Unfortunately this brave act soon backfired on him as the mob then turned its full force on Goliath. 

"Goliath!!!" yelled Elisa in fear. 

The anti-gargoyle mob had brought him down and surrounded him. There was no way he would survive such an onslaught without help. Gathering up all her newfound gargoyle strength Elisa ripped out from the restraints, letting out an ear piercing battle cry of her own. She jumped up atop a car and did a short length glide over toward where she had last seen Goliath. As she looked impatiently for signs of life her prayers were answered by an eruption of people that flew into the air from the center of the mob. Goliath's show of strength made most of the crowd back up a bit but Elisa knew that it was only momentary.Landing beside Goliath she let out a rather loud growl that made a few of the people stare and blink. 

"Need a hand" asked Elisa as she gave Goliath a sly grin. 

Goliath only smiled at her and that alone made her think that they may be able to handle this mob themselves. That thought was immediately thrown away as the crowd let out a roar and charged the two courageous gargoyles. A bit surprised by the sudden change, Elisa hesitated a moment and almost got hit in the ribs with a steel bat. Almost, but not quite. With amazing quickness she lashed out with her talons and sliced the bat to pieces from just above the attackers hands all the way to the end. This made the attacker drop the bat and try to escape. Another came at her and this time the person had a crowbar raised high over his head. Almost without thinking Elisa wrapped her tail around the legs of the attacker and brought him down quick. She looked over her shoulder to see how Goliath was doing and was amazed to see that he was taking on four attackers at one time and whipping there butts to boot. As she continued to fight the seemingly endless legion of enemies, she knew that they wouldn't be able to keep this up much longer. There was only one thing that she could think of, one person that might be able to save them Xanatos. 

**************************************

Xanatos had to admit, Goliath and Maza were definitely a force to be reckoned with. They were even more formidable now that Maza was a gargoyle. So far they were able to keep the crowd at bay and discourage some of the more cowardly among the mob to flee but he knew that it wouldn't stay that way forever. After a few last minute minute calculations Xanatos took aim with his patented wrist laser and fired a red beam just a few inches above the crowds heads. 

"That was a warning shot people, next time it will be a foot lower" , said Xanatos in a 'no more mr.Nice Guy ' fashion, "if you don't leave the gargoyles alone and go home".

In order to better show that he meant what he said he signaled his other steel clan robots to aim their lasers to match his. This definitely got the crowds attention, but they still made no attempt to leave. 

"This is not going according to plan" muttered Xanatos. 

If they renewed the riot there would be no way to prevent significant casualties on the part of both gargoyles and humans. 

"A lot to go through for two winged animals, but in for a penny in for a pound" thought Xanatos as he did a brief scan of the crowd to see if there was any weapons that could conceivably damage him battle armor. 

A few of the people had some home made fire bombs but otherwise all they had were blunt weapons. 

"Still who knows what would happen if they got some heavier weaponry" mused Xanatos. 

As he looked over to Goliath and Maza he saw that they were still ready for a fight but he hoped that they were secretly thinking up a plan to get out of here because he was pretty much out of ideas. So far Xanatos' attempt at delaying the crowd was working. 

************************************

The crowd just stood there looking back and forth between Elisa and him and Xanatos and his steel clan. Though Goliath was confident that he could probably handle most of these people he didn't want to risk Elisa's safety. Taking a quick glance around Goliath could see that not more than eleven feet away was the S.W.A.T van. If they could make onto the roof of the van they might be able to get enough altitude to glide out of here. Before the noble gargoyle leader could decide the crowd once more charged them and forced Goliath to go for it. 

"This way!" yelled as he flung himself in the direction of the van. 

He knew that Elisa might not be able to glide but at least from atop the van they would be less vulnerable to attack. Once he landed on the roof he took a quick glance behind him and saw that Elisa was going to make it and jumped of the van to gain enough altitude to glide.Within moments both he and Elisa were airborne and quickly gaining altitude. As he turned to head for the castle Elisa glided up to his side and gave a broad smile and a wink of her eye. Surging with happiness Goliath smiled back at her and the smile refused to leave his face as he returned his gaze to Xanatos' building in the distance. He was so happy at the moment that he didn't even think of the fact that she would have to return to her human self soon or she may return to the prescient house with a great many questions to answer. For now all he could think of was the fact that once again he was soaring through the air without a care in the world. 


	3. Things just got a little more complicate...

"Bitter Sweet Occurance" Chapter Three – By Ryley Breen AKA Shadow Master Normal Admin 1 2001-11-10T19:01:00Z 2001-11-10T19:03:00Z 3 4973 28351 JTB 236 56 34817 9.2511 800x600 0 0 

"Bitter Sweet Occurance" Chapter Three – By Ryley Breen AKA Shadow Master

"Good, now that Goliath and Maza are out of the way the crowd is beginning to calm down" , thought Xanatos, "still, the crowd may refocus their anger on me so I had best follow Goliath's lead and go". 

With that Xanatos shot into the air in his battle suit, leaving the local police to deal with the 'upset citizens'. As he reached cruising altitude he began to wonder just how the dear detective came about this amazing transformation. He had already come up with several possibilities but all of them had one thing or another to do with Puck or Owen as he was more commonly known. On that thought he felt a bit uneasy. Here he was, one of the most powerful businessmen in the world and one of his employees has the power to take it all away with a fluttering of an eyelid. As if on cue there was a flash of green light beside him and the comical changeling appeared flying next to him. 

"Oh you needn't worry about your empire Xanatos, I have no desire for corporate power" , said Puck as he did the backstroke, "besides it's much more fun to see what you do with it". 

"How long have you been eavesdropping on my thoughts?" asked Xanatos. 

"Oh just since you left the hospital, nice job by the way" , said Puck with a grin, "I think your popularity just dropped another ten percent". 

With a sigh Xanatos decided to make the best of a 'unusual' situation. 

"Since you were listening in would you mind supplying an explanation as to Detective Maza's condition?" asked Xanatos. 

"If you mean to ask did I have anything to do with it the answer is no" said Puck as a piece of paper and scissors appeared in his hands. 

"Then if not you then perhaps the weird sisters, they have been known to meddle in human affairs?" asked Xanatos with a shiver. 

He had only met the Weird Sisters once but once was enough. 

"No it isn't them they're stuck on Avalon clean-up duty due to that fiasco with the Arch-mage" , said Puck as he unfolded the paper to reveal paper dolls of Goliath and the now gargoyle Elisa holding hands, "truth be known the entire thing happened by accident" . 

"By accident?" said Xanatos in a quizzical manner. 

"Is there an echo up here!? Yes an accident" , said Puck with a frown, "Maza was just at the wrong place at the right time".

"Don't you mean 'at the wrong place at the wrong time' Puck?" asked Xanatos. 

"No I'm pretty sure I had it right the first time" , said Puck, who judging from the cartwheels he was doing was back to his old self, "If Maza hadn't been there we wouldn't have known about the sphere's disappearance until it was too late". 

"What sphere?!" asked Xanatos, who was beginning to lose patience. 

"Why the sphere of Titania of course" ,said Puck in a matter-of-fact tone, "Its one of Mothers more powerful trinkets". 

This statement intrigued Xanatos, if only due to the fact that it was within reach. With such a magical bauble in his possession he and his family could finally achieve immortality. 

"Don't even think about it Xanatos, it won't happen" , said Puck floating just a few feet from his face, "as soon as the sphere is in my possession I'm going to return it to Titania in hopes of gaining more freedom with my powers" . 

"Ah well, no sense arguing the point with him around" , thought Xanatos, "besides, there will be plenty of time to ponder it later". 

"Don't count on it Xanatos, tonight is going to be a busy, busy night" said Puck and with a loud laugh the fey disappeared. 

As the castle loomed into view Xanatos could already see the silhouetted forms of Elisa and Goliath landing on the tower. 

**************************************************

Elisa loved gliding and didn't ever want it to end. Unfortunately even a gargoyle needs rest and her wings were already a bit sore. For some of the trip back to the castle Elisa had pondered how she had learned to fly so quickly. Suddenly she remembered how Goliath had corrected her when they first met. A small smirk came to her face as she landed gracefully next to Goliath. 

"Well that question can wait" thought Elisa as she stepped off the edge of the castle wall. 

She had only had this form for a little over a day now and she felt as if she had been born this way. It felt so right,so natural but she knew that this would end once Goliath and the rest helped her find Demona and the Sphere. Elisa would then be changed back to a human and things would go back to normal. 

"All the more reason to cherish the few moments I have with Goliath as a gargoyle" though Elisa as she grabbed Goliath's arm and held onto it as a daughter would grasp her fathers arm. 

This provoked a momentary look of surprise on Goliath's face but soon faded into a smile. She knew that he was enjoying every moment of this and so was she. For him he was once again feeling emotions that he had thought were lost forever. For her a bridge had finally formed between them and she was free to reveal everything to him, especially her love for him. Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted as she heard the sounds of several winged forms come down in front of them. The entire clan was there and at first they didn't say anything, not surprising seeing as how they didn't ever expect to see Elisa in this form again. Surprisingly Angela was the first person to say anything. 

"What happened to you?" asked Angela as she slowly looked Elisa over. 

"Well I tried to stop Demona from stealing a magical artifact from the museum but in the course of doing so the sphere turned me into a gargoyle" answered Elisa, who was a bit uncomfortable at how Angela was looking at her. 

Angela had some knowledge of how Goliath felt about her and after Angela's previous encounters with Demona this little scene must be a bit unnerving. After that Angela didn't say anything, she simply stood there and stared at Elisa. 

"Is it permanent Elisa?" asked Lexington, trying to break the silence. 

"I don't know but I hope not" replied Elisa. 

An almost inaudible sigh came from Goliath.Elisa knew that this wasn't easy for him, she meant a lot to him. That was pretty much borne out by how he reacted when he thought she was dead.Elisa knew that Goliath had feelings for her that went much deeper and were much stronger than friendship. She felt the same way about him and that made it seem a bit unusual. Before all this she never had to think about it because the difference of species was usually enough to discourage any in depth discussion. Now that she was a gargoyle it must have seemed like heaven to Goliath when they were gliding. Sadly they both knew that she would have to somehow be changed back to human form. 

"All the more reason to cherish the moments you have together now" said a cheerful voice behind her. 

She whipped around to see Puck floating upside down behind her. She let out a small growl to show her detestment for the changeling. The last time she had seen the trickster he had changed her into to a gargoyle as a joke for Demona. It wasn't completely terrible but he could have at least asked her first. Frowning at Elisa's behavior he turned right side up and floated over to Goliath. 

"Surely you Goliath can appreciate the opportunity you are being given" , said Puck floating around Goliath, "Now you can get a taste of what might have been" . 

"What might have been doesn't matter" , said Goliath with a frown, "but you are right to say that we should make the best of an unexpected situation" . 

"Atta boy Goliath, I knew I could count on you" , said Puck as he flew over to the others, "Come on people, support your gallant leader" . 

The others only stood there and gave him 'just leave' looks. 

"Sheesh, rough crowd" said Puck as he sat himself cross-legged on the castle wall. 

"Puck what could Demona do with this 'sphere'?" asked Goliath taking a step toward the bored midget. 

"Oh nothing much, just eradicate half the humans on this world along with most of the plants" said Puck as a pack of cards appeared in his hands and began playing solitaire. 

"What!?" exclaimed everybody. 

"Oh don't get so upset, it will at least take her another three or four hours to set anything decent up" , said Puck as he finished his game, "you have plenty of time to prepare" . 

"Still it won't matter at all if we don't know where to find her" , said Brooklyn, "you wouldn't know where she would need to be to use the sphere" . 

"Unfortunately no. The sphere can be used just about anywhere" said Puck as he started playing cracker jacks. 

"I believe I can help with that little detail" said a digitized Xanatos as he landed his battle armor next to Puck. 

*******************************

This whole thing was getting a bit confusing and a bit uncomfortable for Angela. She knew that Goliath had feelings for Elisa and she knew that he would just about anything for her. The real question was how did Elisa really feel for Goliath, how far would she go to help him? She didn't really have the time to ponder these thought as the entire clan glided down to the courtyard after Xanatos. As they entered the great hall Angela couldn't help but stand in awe of the beauty of the place. True it was different from how it had been a thousand years ago but it was still breathtaking. The others seemed to take all this a bit for granted, though she understood why. They had lived here most of their lives while she had only heard certain details about it from Princess Catherine and the Magus.They went down a long corridor to Xanatos' office which seemed drastically different from the castle decor. As she began to listen she couldn't help but look over in the direction of Goliath and Elisa. Goliath's eyes could barely stay away from looking at the new gargoyle, it was as if he had gotten the greatest gift in the world and didn't want to let it go. Elisa seemed to be a bit more restrained concerning her emotions and only looked at Goliath a few times. Angela guessed that this was because she didn't want to mess Goliath's feelings. Elisa had already stated that she wished to return to her human form. This brought up another curious question, how far would Elisa go to reclaim her humanity. 

"Oh your just being silly,Elisa cares for Goliath" , thought Angela, "she wouldn't put him at risk just for her own convenience" . 

Still the thought continued to roll around in her head and it seemed to show no indication of leaving Angela's thoughts. Little did Angela know that in a few short hours that question would receive an answer. 

*********************************************

"Ever since I found out that 'Nightstone Enterprises' was owned by Demona and Thailog I have tried to keep tabs on their activities" , said Xanatos with a smile frown combination, "and discover as many of their secrets as possible" . 

As Xanatos took off the last of the armor he couldn't help but notice the two lovebirds in the corner. 

"Don't they make just a lovely couple!" thought Xanatos said sarcastically. 

"They have four main buildings in the city that would suit her purposes" , he said as he clicked on the view screen on the wall, "Nightstone tower, Demona's private residence, a warehouse by the docks and a new electronics firm downtown".

"What makes you think she would use the sphere in any of these places?" ,asked Brooklyn, "one building in New York is just as good as another".

"True but only these would provide the view that would allow her to see and hear the sounds of every human in the city dying" said Xanatos in a hateful tone. 

Goliath only nodded in agreement, while the others seemed to just plain angry. 

"We cannot hope to cover every one of them in time so we'll have to split into teams" , said Goliath, "Elisa and I will take the tower,Angela you and Brooklyn go to Demona's home, Lexington you and Broadway go to the electronics firm" . 

"Aye, and Bronx and I will take the warehouse"said Hudson as he looked at Bronx and grinned. 

Bronx simply moaned about this, apparently he wanted to keep an eye on either Angela or Elisa.

"Agreed, Owen and I will co-ordinate efforts here and send you reinforcements should any of you need them" , said Xanatos, "we will also provide you with flare guns so one team can alert the others if Demona's spotted". 

Broadway didn't seem to be very happy when Xanatos had said the word 'gun'. Not surprising given his experiences with guns. With that they left the room and began to walk back outside. 

*************************************************

Elisa was worried about this plan of Xanatos' and not because he was a major part of it but because it also provided him with a great opportunity.With the power of the sphere in his control he would be unstoppable. He could do whatever he wanted and given the depths she had seen him sink it made her shudder to think of the sphere in his hands. They would have to try and destroy the sphere the minute she was back to normal. That brought to the surface a rather disturbing thought, would Goliath try and sabotage this so she would remain a gargoyle? Elisa didn't think so, he had had the opportunity once before to keep her from becoming human again but allowed her to return to normal. This pretty much dismissed the doubts she had about Goliath. As they reached the courtyard she noticed that Goliath had been staring at her the entire time. He immediately blushed and turned away once he saw that she had caught him in the act. It was kinda nice seeing Goliath act this way, most of the time he seemed so serious. As they began walking up the steps to the outer wall she noticed that everyone was giving her quick glances of concern. They cared for her as if she were one of their own(which at the moment she was) and they were all probably wondering if she should be going with them. Elisa knew they were concerned about her whenever she accompanied them on certain missions and she was also concerned about them as well. Unfortunately concern like this could cost them the victory against Demona which they could not afford. 

"I have to do something to snap them out of this" thought Elisa. 

As she saw them climb up onto the edge of the wall to take off an idea snapped into her head. If she showed them that she could fly just as well as they could that would at the very least calm them down enough to concentrate. Taking a deep breath Elisa jumped over the castle walls and opened her wings in mid-air. 

"Well that's a start" , thought Elisa as she looked back at the dumbfounded clan, "a bit of aerial gymnastics should finish the job" .

With that she did two corkscrew dives followed by two loop-da-loops and then casually glided in the general direction of the Nightstone building. 

"Whoa" , said Brooklyn as he saw Elisa glide away, "She's good!" 

Goliath was equally amazed as he saw the jeans wearing gargoyle glide off into the night. 

All he could say was "halapania". 

As he gazed around he saw that everyone but Hudson had their mouth open. Shaking himself out of the lovesick stupor he said" lets go". 

With that he dove into the air and glided off after Elisa, who had by then gained considerable distance.Trying to focus on the task at hand he briefly glanced back at the castle and saw that the others were slowly coming out of their shocked states and followed his lead. Their shock was understandable, Elisa had been a gargoyle for less than twelve hours and already she glided as if she were born to it. This definitely dismissed any doubts he had about her safety,he was sure that there would be nothing they couldn't handle. 

"Oh I wouldn't go that far" , said a voice above him, "I admit that she is impressive but then so is Demona". 

As Goliath looked up he saw Puck floating above him with his patented grin on. The appearance of Puck brought an interesting as well as disturbing question to mind. 

"Puck, what would happen if the sphere was destroyed?" , asked Goliath, "Would it explode or just shatter like a normal crystal ball?". 

"Both of those things could happen but I think its best not to try and find out" , said Puck as began doing the breaststroke, "otherwise you may envy what happened to the Arch-mage". 

With that the child of Oberon disappeared and Goliath was left with even more questions. Puck was right about one thing, the crystal must not be destroyed or even damaged unless there was no other option. Returning his gaze to Elisa he saw that she had been circling over an apartment building waiting for him to catch up. Flapping his wings Goliath swooped off towards Elisa, still asking himself what should be downbeat the sphere. If only Goliath knew that in the end it wouldn't be him that decided this, but someone who would have an even harder choice to make when the time came. 

***********************************************************

Demona gave a loud laugh as she finished making the appropriate preparations for the momentous night. She was simply overflowing with ecstasy as she contemplated the results her scheme would produce. The deranged gargoyle could virtually see Xanatos is his office after the spell had been cast. Calm and content then suddenly feeling his body scream out with pain. The thought of seeing him flail around in a vain attempt to fight the pain was only overshadowed by the thought of every human in existence doing the same thing. All of humanity screaming out for mercy,mercy which did not exist in her. 

"The Vikings and the Hunters didn't show my kind any mercy" said Demona as she gazed at the circular vessel of power, "so I will show their kind no mercy either" . 

At the mention of her kind her thoughts shifted to Goliath and his clan of traitors. By now they would be trying to locate her so that they could put an end to her plans.Fortunately she had anticipated this from the beginning and had made some adjustments to remove them from the game. She had a virtual army at everyone of her major buildings in New York. Demona had ordered that they capture all the gargoyles and bring them to her. She also said to leave Goliath alone as well as the now gargoyle Elisa Maza. She wanted to deal with those two personally, they had to pay for thwarting her plans in the past. Goliath was the main focus of her anger because he was responsible for the destruction of her clan. At the thought of her former love a glimmer of love came across her face but quickly changed into one of bitter hatred. 

"If he had only led the clan away that night, if only..." she said bitterly. 

It was because of his stupidity and weakness that her rookery brothers and sisters were gone. She had made several attempts over the years to forget about it and try and start a new life with the few gargoyles she had stumbled upon over during the past millennia. Demona had tried to forget about her lost love but people like the Hunter refused to grant her that peace. Since then she had dedicated her life to ending all threats to her kind but found that it was simply to much for her alone.When she had discovered that Xanatos was moving castle Wyvern and the remains of her clan to New York she at first wanted to kill him. That changed when they met and he explained the terms of the spell. At that moment she was filled with joy, joy at the fact that her loneliness was going to come to an end. After she and Goliath had been reunited she actually felt as though she might actually be able to feel love again.Demona's hopes were shattered when she discovered that Goliath was still the fool he had been a thousand years ago. From then on she knew that he would oppose her in her quest. From there on in her desire for love was twisted into an all consuming hatred. When she finally succeeded tonight she wanted him to be there, for him to see her ultimate triumph. Then she would use the power of the sphere to destroy the feeble coward that he was and rebuild him into what he should be, a gargoyle who would do anything she wanted. With that final thought Demona let out a loud laugh and left the room, still contemplating what she would do. 

******************************************************

Brooklyn and Angela landed on the roof of Demona's house with a slight thapping sound. They knew that if Demona was here that she was probably expecting them. He gazed along the edge of the glass window for signs of alarm systems. He saw one sensor at every corner with wires going into the wall. 

"Hmmm, Demona doesn't seem to concerned with home security" , said Brooklyn, "Still we had best not take any chances". 

Motioning her to the other side of the window he said" When I give the word you rip through the roof and cut as many wires as possible" . 

Angela nodded an took her place.

"One...two...three...now" said Brooklyn and with all his might he tore into the roof. 

Suddenly he felt a stinging sensation in his back followed by his entire body going numb. 

"Tranquilizer Darts" moaned Brooklyn as he collapsed. 

Brooklyn tried to yell to Angela but she was already on her back unconscious. In a final act of desperation he reach for the flare gun and tried to fire it off, but it was knocked out of his hand. Gazing blindly around Brooklyn could only see the silhouettes of three men standing around him and then everything went black. 

*****************************************************

Lexington loved the fact that they were given the job of staking out the electronics firm. Though he knew he had to keep his mind on the mission it didn't mean that he couldn't look at all the neat hardware and software and gadgets. Once they were inside Lexington's mouth dropped as he gazed upon the isles of electronic wonders. It was like walking a technological wonderland, though Broadway didn't seem to be too impressed. 

"Hmmm, his idea of heaven is probably a supermarket all to himself" thought Lexington with a grin as he began to search the store. 

The firm was pretty much deserted, the only thing that seemed to be alive was him and Broadway.Suddenly a bone chilling laugh rang throughout the building, a laugh that both Lexington and Broadway knew was Demona's. Both of them immediately began to look for the source of the sound and were able to track it to a locked office in the back. Motioning Broadway to knock the door down Lex readied himself for battle. With a resounding crash Broadway burst through the door and let out a loud growl. 

"Funny nobodies here" said Broadway.Lex shared his brothers puzzlement, the room was completely empty except for a pedestal in the center. 

"What's that on the pedestal?" asked Broadway. 

As if on cue a spotlight came on and shone down on the pedestal and a glittering crystal ball was revealed. 

"Hey, there's the sphere" said Broadway as he started to walk toward it. 

"Wait it could be a trap" , said Lex, "there's no way that Demona would leave it unprotected". 

Lex looked around and found a stray piece of metal on the ground. He picked it up and with a slight toss he threw it at the crystal. It didn't get within two feet of the crystal before it got shot down by lasers mounted on the walls.

"There's no way we can get past that without getting turned into swiss cheese" said Broadway with a frown. 

"And there's no way you monsters are getting out of here either" said a voice from above. 

Suddenly the ground was filled with thousands of volts of electricity. Broadway and Lexington screamed in pain as their bodies flailed around in uncontrollable spasms.A second later the electric torture stopped and both Lex and Broadway fell to the ground. It was at this point that Lex just about wished that he had never woken up tonight. 

************************************

Bronx let out an audible moan as he lumbered into the warehouse. "Aye boy I know how ye feel" said Hudson with his sword drawn. 

Hudson hadn't relished the thought of having to go up against Demona again, especially alone. Oh he had Bronx but against the kind of technology and sorcery she had he didn't think they would be enough. He had once before gone against Demona after she had poisoned Elisa. He found out that night that Demona was definitely a force to be reckoned with. Hudson had fought his hardest against her that night and at best he was able to keep her busy. Suddenly he heard sounds of movement coming from the back of the warehouse and he immediately took a look in that direction. All he saw was a cape like shadow dart away. That was all Bronx needed as the large gargoyle dog charged off in that direction. 

"Wait boy!" said Hudson as he took off after the beast. 

He didn't like what was happening, not one little bit.He knew that it was probably a trap but he also knew that he couldn't allow Bronx to get caught. 

"Two against ten is better then one against ten" muttered Hudson. 

When he turned the corner he found Bronx sniffing a solid steel door which the cloaked figure had apparently gone in. Sizing up the door himself he estimated it to be at least half a foot thick and solid as a rock. 

Hudson looked down at Bronx and said" O.k boy, give it your best shot". 

With that Bronx took a few steps back and with a loud bark ran and dove paws first at the door. With a loud clang the door fell down to the ground with a muffled thunk. When Hudson looked in all he could see was dusty old furniture. 

"Ach, what a mess" said Hudson with disgust. 

The dust was so thick it was even floating in the air with surprising denseness. Bronx took a quick sniff of the dust and immediately jumped back and began to growl. 

"What is it boy?" asked Hudson as he himself took a sniff of the dust. It didn't take him a second to find out what had bothered Bronx. 

"Gas!" , said Hudson as he covered his mouth, "Quick boy,back outside." 

Breaking into a sprint the two gargoyles ran with all their might for the exit but for each step they took the second seemed to be harder to make. The gas was having its affect as Hudson fell to the ground. He hoped that at least Bronx would be able to make it but that thought was kicked aside as Hudson heard the thump of Bronx's body beside him. He tried to stay awake and fight to the door but his old body didn't respond. With one final strain of his limbs Hudson looked up to see men wearing gas masks. That was the last thing that Hudson saw before he succumbed to the blackness. 

*****************************

Elisa was having the time of her life up above the city and she never wanted it to end. She had only glided for a few moments back at the castle and already she felt as if she had done it all her life. From what she heard, the others were completely shocked at her aerial prowess. She knew how they felt because she herself was shocked that she had been able to pull those maneuvers off, especially since she just got her wings a day or two ago. The transformation must have done more than just transform her into a gargoyle, it must have given her the instincts as well. Inside her mind she had knowledge that humans could only theorize about. She looked over at Goliath and saw how casually he soared on his four foot long wings.Elisa knew that for him this was probably normal for him, just routine,but for her it was like a ride on a miniature glider. She regretted that she would have to give it all up in a few hours. Part of her didn't really want to but the other part reminded her of the responsibilities she had as a human. Her job as a police officer she could probably do without but her friends and family was something that she could never give up. Elisa knew that she could probably keep a few of her friends as a gargoyle but the fact that they were friends could make things harder for them. They would probably be persecuted as "freak-lovers" among other things and that was something she wouldn't wish on her worst enemy. Her mind snapped back to reality as she saw the Nightstone building just a few blocks away. She would have to put these thoughts on hold for now. 

With angel like grace she began her descent to the balcony on the top floor. Goliath strained with his spirit as he saw Elisa glide down to the balcony of the penthouse at the top of the Nightstone building. He pushed away the thoughts of abandoning the mission and letting Demona keep the sphere. If he did that Elisa would remain a gargoyle and he could once more feel love. It wouldn't have mattered if all the humans were gone as long as she was with him. Unfortunately his sense of honor and integrity banished those thoughts from his mind. It would be selfish and dishonorable to try and keep Elisa in a form she didn't want to be in. It would be equally dishonourable to treat human life with such disregard, even if he only thought it. To think that way would make him no better than Demona and he would not allow that. When he landed next to Elisa he could tell that she was engaged in a spiritual battle of her own. They both knew what they wanted but they also knew what had to be done. Without another thought they dismissed all other thoughts and focused only on the mission at hand. 

*************************************

Puck was beginning to wonder if there would be any excitement tonight.There had been no flares the entire night and that bothered him. By now at least one of the teams would have found Demona. If Demona wasn't found before she cast the spell the world would be in jeopardy. 

"C'mon Goliath find that sphere" , said Puck dramatically, "don't let your old buddy Puck down". 

If he failed in his mission Titania would not be in a good mood.The sphere was one of the few things that she owned with the power to commit genocide. If she didn't get it back he would be lucky to have any access to his magical powers at all. Suddenly he felt a powerful presence behind him and he turned around and saw Titania standing behind him. 

"What progress have you made with your assignment Puck?" she asked in a stern tone. 

"Quite a bit mother dearest" , said Puck with a bit of panic in his normally playful voice, "the gargoyles have already been sent out after Demona and it won't take long for them to beat her and get the sphere back". 

"You seem so confident in their abilities Puck" , said Titania frowning, "what if they fail and Demona succeeds in her attempt to destroy humanity?"

"That won't happen, Goliath would rather die himself than let that happen" , said Puck in a confident tone, "as would the remaining gargoyles". 

"What about Elisa Maza, would she sacrifice herself?" asked Titania.

"Of course, she's a police officer for crying out loud" , said Puck as he jumped off the wall to the ground, "she knows all about 'dying in the line of duty' stuff" . 

"You had best be right about this Puck or you will envy the Weird Sisters punishment" said Titania as she vanished from sight. 

"I hope I'm right as well" said Puck as he resumed his nervous and eager gaze at the night sky. 

*****************************************

"Man, what a mess!" thought Officer Sampson. 

It had taken them forever to get that mob to disperse even with the two gargoyles gone. It had taken what must have been twenty cans of tear gas and two whole precients to quiet things down. He was just glad that he was back to the normal night beat. True he probably wasn't going to see any more action tonight but that was fine by him, he had had his fill of excitement for one shift.

"Car 102, break in at the Nightstone electronics store on fifth and Broadway, please investigate" squawked the radio. 

"This is car 102, 10-4"said Sampson as he flipped on the sirens on his car. 

This was turning out to be one busy night, first a riot now a robbery. 

"Great! What's next, the empire state building going to explode" thought Samson as he speeded off in the direction of the robbery. 

When he arrived he saw a large van parked out in front of the store. It didn't look like your run of the mill van,it was more like a battle van of some sort. Armour covered it from stem to stern, it looked like it was strong enough to take on a tank. Suddenly he saw six masked figures coming from the alley next to the store and all seemed to be fully armed. Then Sampson noticed something funny about what these punks were doing. They were apparently carrying two human looking figures except they had tails and wings?! 

"They must be gargoyles" ,thought Sampson, "and in that case these punks aren't going anywhere".

Flicking on the squad cars floodlight Sampson got out and trained his pistol on the six figures. 

"Freeze punks, dead or alive you're coming with me" said Sampson hoping to intimidate them. 

Unfortunately the sound of automatic weapons fire showed that they were not intimidated in the least.

"Shit" cursed Sampson as he ducked behind the door. 

There was no way he was going to stop these rambos all by himself. Crawling back into the car Sampson reached for the radio in hopes of summoning back-up. The hoods must have caught on to his tactic because a hail of gunfire went through his windshield, causing glass to rain down on his head. It didn't take a genius to know what would happen if one of those slugs hit the fuel tank.

"Only one chance" muttered Sampson as he cocked his revolver. 

Charging away from the car Sampson fired blindly at his enemies in hopes of stalling them until he got to the alley on the other side of the building. With aloud boom the squad car erupted into a ball of flame as metal shrapnel flew everywhere. 

"Damn, I lose more cars that way" thought Sampson as he peeked out to see what their next move was going to be. 

Surprisingly they didn't pursue him instead they simply threw their live cargo into the van. 

"I've got to stay with them" , thought Sampson as he saw them shut the van doors,"there's no way that those autos their packing are legal" . 

With all his speed and cunning Sampson rushed up behind the van and made like a rail runner and hitched a ride underneath the van. As the van sped off Sampson began to wonder what those six crooks would want with two gargoyles? 


	4. The End of All Things Approaches

"Bitter Sweet Occurance" By Ryley Breen AKA Shadow Master

email : rybreen@theberries.ns.ca

As Goliath studied the door to the room Elisa's thoughts drifted back to the time that Goliath, Hudson, Bronx and herself had gone to investigate the apparent reemergence of the Pack. They had apparently been cornered in a run down apartment building, but as they later found out the Pack had set a trap for them in hopes of field testing the their new bionic and cybernetic accessories. She had felt so helpless then, going up against them when they were human was hard enough. Though even if she had had this gargoyle body back then it probably wouldn't have had any effect on the outcome. 

"No need to try and sneak in Goliath" , said a voice from a hidden speaker, "I've been expecting you" . 

The sound of Demona's sly voice snapped Elisa from her thoughts and made her eyes glow a scarlet red.The renegade gargoyle was really beginning to get on her nerves. 

"Now,now Detective you'll get a chance at me eventually" said Demona. 

There was a low buzzing noise and the door leading into the penthouse swung slowly open. Uncertain of what awaited them Goliath took point while she took up the rear as they entered the proverbial 'lion's den'. The entire room was pitch dark, so much so that even their glowing eyes could not illuminate more than a few feet of the room. It looked like your run of the mill penthouse, with the exception of having a lot more windows. The darkness was shortly eliminated as a laser blast flew across the room and just about singed Elisa's skin. 

"Down!" yelled Goliath as he pulled her behind a plush couch. 

Two more shots flew over the top of the sofa as they stooped close to the floor. 

"This is no good, we can't stay here" , said Elisa,"this couch won't give us much protection against that laser gun" .

"Agreed, I suggest we try coming at it from two directions" said Goliath and immediately took off towards the right side of the room. 

Without questioning him she took off in the opposite direction. Elisa couldn't help but wonder if this was exactly what Demona wanted. As she reached approached the laser turret she saw that it seemed to be purposely avoiding any direct hits on Goliath. Unfortunately it wasn't being anywhere near as accommodating for her as it took all her speed and agility to dodge the deadly red beams. This was a trap all right and he apparently was the target. This wasn't exactly something to be happy about but it at least gave him an idea of what Demona had planned. Obviously she wanted him alive either as a test subject for the sphere or because she wanted to kill him with her own two hands. Though she seemed to care little about what happened to Elisa, that much was shown by the laser fire. He was about a foot away from the laser when he heard it. With lightning speed a bolt of electricity shot across the room and struck him in the side. He let out a cry of pain as he fell against the wall and try as he must he couldn't move anymore. Suddenly the laser fire stopped and all was quiet, the quiet of the dead you could almost say. Goliath's mind strained to command his limbs to move but they didn't even twitch. 

"Goliath!" yelled Elisa as she ran toward him. 

She didn't get two feet before she was shot by a tranquilizer dart. 

"Elisa!"Goliath roared as he redoubled his efforts to move. 

The dosage must have been fairly high because she dropped to the ground within seconds. He strained to move but it proved both futile and senseless. All he could do was wait, wait for whatever fate Demona had planned for him. 

"Perfect" said Demona with a short laugh. 

Both Goliath and Maza were out and now she could proceed with phase two of her operation. The Mercenaries had captured the remaining gargoyles and placed them in the main hall next to the sphere. All were tied down with chains and cables so that they couldn't escape, not that it would help them any. With Titania's sphere in her hands there was no place on earth they could hide from her. All who opposed her in the past would perish and she alone would emerge the ruler of the world. Unfortunately she first had to test the sphere's abilities before she could risk using it for her ultimate goal. Goliath's clan would prove to be the perfect test subjects except for Angela. Though she knew that he daughter had too much of Goliath's stupidity and concern for the humans in her, she was sure that with time Angela would learn the same lesson about humanity as she did. Reaching up to the intercom Demona instructed that Goliath be taken to the main hall and said that they could do what they liked with Maza. Though she wanted to deal with that infernal gargoyle/human herself, Demona figured that she should let those pathetic humans have their fun since in a few hours they would die along with the rest of the human filth. At the conclusion of her conversation she proceeded down the dark hall to see how Brooklyn and the rest were. No doubt they were conscious now and probably mad as hell. The thought of those fools struggling against their bonds brought a smile to Demona's face. She would enjoy practicing on them, for each of them on one occasion or another had thwarted her plans. 

"It's payback time" said Demona and with a loud, maniacal laugh she proceeded towards her ultimate triumph. Or so she thought. 

******************************************

"Ohhh" , Brooklyn moaned as he slowly came to, "what happened?" 

As he looked around he was easily able to asses the situation. Obviously Demona knew that they would come after and had set up traps for them, but why?

"Are ye alright lad?" asked Hudson who was on the other side of the room.

"Yeah nothing a bottle of aspirin wouldn't cure but if Demona has her way none of us will be O.K much longer" said Brooklyn as he strained to break free. 

Sadly there was apparently still some tranquilizer drugs in his system. 

"It's no use lad, these chains and cables are two strong" , said Hudson as he tested his own restraints, "I doubt even Goliath could break these blasted things". 

That didn't bode well for the rest of them, not one little bit. As he gazed around he saw that both Elisa and Goliath had not been captured. 

"Well at least Goliath and Elisa are still free" , said Broadway in a cheerful tone. 

"Not any more!" , said Demona as she wheeled Goliath into the room on a high tech stretcher. 

"This is bad, very bad" ,thought Brooklyn, "now it is up to Elisa to save the world as well as us" .

"What have ye done with Elisa?" asked Hudson with a growl. 

"Oh don't worry, Detective Maza will be joining you shortly" , said Demona with a chuckle, "she's just getting better acquainted with a few old friends from the state penatentury" . 

All of the clan let out a slight gasp as they realised the meaning behind Demona's statement. 

"What do you plan to do with us?" asked Lexington hoping he wouldn't regret hearing the answer.

"Goliath and the rest of you have long been a thorn in my side. Every time victory is within my grasp you six show up and ruin it" , said Demona with bitterness, "I should destroy you now but that would be a waste of a valuable resource. After I rid the world of every last human I will use the power of the sphere to bring you around to my way of thinking" . 

"Oh yeah, this is bad" , thought Brooklyn, "only a miracle could save us now". 

****************************************

Sampson cursed at himself as he got out from under the van. They had gotten to their destination about fifteen minutes ago and Sampson had decided to wait a few minutes before peeking out to see if things were safe. 

"Cough, cough. A lot to go through for two gargoyles" thought Sampson as he wiped the dirt off his body. 

He was in a rather large parking garage and aside from the van the entire was empty. As he looked around the room he spied a company logo painted on the wall. 

"Nightstone industries eh, figures" , he thought as he crept toward the elevator, "It would take a fairly well heeled place like this to support that goon squad". 

Once he got to the elevator he saw that the mercenaries had gone up to the twentieth floor and apparently gotten off. He knew that he would need back-up for this job but as he searched for his radio he got the sinking feeling that he wouldn't be getting it. He looked down at his belt and discovered that his radio was missing. 

"Damn, must have fallen out on the ride here" , muttered Sampson as he pressed the elevator button, "it looks as though I'm on my own" . 

Once he got in he began loading his pistol, and checking every so often what floor he was at. 

"Heh, saving three gargoyles in less than two days" , thought Dave, "why is it I always get the weird jobs?" 

The elevator chimed and Sampson flattened himself against the side of the car. As the doors slid open he prepared himself to hear the sounds of guns cocking and bullets flying but there was nothing but silence. As he peeked out he saw that the lavish hallway was bare except for a few lamps on the walls. 

As he looked at his surroundings he let out a slight whistle and muttered" I'm definitely in the wrong business!" 

That thought was cast aside as Sampson heard a loud crash and the sound of a person being struck. He looked around the hall for a clue, a hint as to where the sound was coming from. Then he saw it, at the end of the hallway he saw that a door marked "Gym" was slightly ajar and light was seeping through the cracks. As the lone officer creeped down the hallway the sounds of the beaten became clearer and he was able to identify the victim as being female. Then to his surprise a loud cougar like growl rang throughout the floor. That was the final piece in the puzzle as Sampson realized that the victim of the abuse was a gargoyle. Once he reached the door he peered through the crack to try and estimate just who was in there. Only about a half of the room was visible but that was all that was needed. All the hoods he had seen at the store plus three more, though now they were relatively unarmed. As he gazed up to get a look at the gargoyle they were beating his jaw dropped to the ground. It was the same gargoyle that he had helped the night before. 

*****************************************

"Unnh" grunted Elisa as she was struck in the gut. 

Things weren't making much sense to her but one thing was for sure, she couldn't take much more of this. The last thing that she remembered was being hit with a tranquilliser dart and falling to the ground and everything going black.Then she had been rather rudely awaken with a slap to the face. Somehow she had apparently been taken to a gym and strapped to the punching bag.Demona obviously wanted her to suffer a little before being sent to meet her maker. Another blow connected except this one hit her ribs and she almost felt it crack. She had tried from the first moment she was awake to break free but both the restraints they had placed on her and the drugs she had been pumped full of were doing there job. Once more she let out a loud gargoyle roar in hopes of scaring them off but it only made them laugh all the harder as they beat her. Elisa gazed about the room, hoping that there was something she could somehow use to her advantage. Nothing that could be of use to her was anywhere near her, letting out a sigh of defeat her eyes fell to the ground. That's when she saw it, two squinty eyes peering through the space left by the ajar door. Struggling against the pain she strained to match a face to those eyes. Suddenly she matched them, it was officer Sampson from the hospital. Somehow he must have discovered about Demona's plan and come to stop it. Unfortunately him knowing just that wouldn't help her any. 

"How can I get free to help him?" thought Maza. 

As if in answer to her question the officer burst through the door and startled the nine thugs to the point of being speechless. Not wasting anytime Elisa yelled" shoot at my restraints!" Without so much as a 'you got it' four shots rang out and Elisa fell to the ground. Pain lanced through her sides as she struggled to her feet. Those punks had definitely cracked a rib or two, that would restrict her movement quite a bit. Elisa's pain was the least of her worries as she gazed across the room and saw that Sampson was surrounded. 

Knowing that they had a better chance of surviving tonight if they worked together, she swallowed her pain and with a bone chilling yell roared" It's payback time!" 

***********************************

"She can't take much more of that" thought Sampson as he closed his eyes with each blow. 

The gargoyle was pretty much out of it and if she was going to be any help to him he had to get her out of there. Taking a deep breath Sampson slammed the door open and leveled the gun at the heads of the abusers. Surprisingly the gargoyle was apparently still conscious and yelled to him" shoot at my restraints!" Not needed to be told twice he shot four bullets at the techno gear that held her to the punching bag.Apparently they had done quite a number on her as he saw her grip her rib area with pain once she hit the floor. He hoped that she wasn't to badly hurt because he was in big trouble. The commando's(and I use the term lightly)had surrounded him and he didn't need to be told that he was up to his neck in it now. Suddenly he savage roar shattered the silence as he saw the gargoyle dive into the nine hoodlums with a vengeance. She was taking on these punks two at a time and looked to actually be having fun.Unfortunately no matter who is fighting, one person against nine people didn't stand a chance. That was proven when just as the gargoyle vixen brought one of the thugs above her head one of the others took a short steel bar and hit her square in the stomach. That one blow brought the brave warrior to her knees and it looked as though she was finished as he saw the gorilla bring the bar up above his head for another swing. With surprising quickness Sampson raised his gun and shot the steel bar right out of his hand. He had pulled off an amazing shot but it had cost him,for now the remaining four punks returned their sights to him. He was down to his last bullet and he was damn sure that these four sorry-excuses-for-human beings wouldn't let him reload. 

Fortunately he didn't need to as the gargoyle goddess launched a second attack on her onetime captors. She still seemed to be a bit sore but she still was a sight to see. 

"Why should she have all the fun!?" thought Sampson as he holstered his pistol. With little time to act Sampson grabbed one of the remaining goons by the arm, spun him around and gave him a right hook that would have made George Foreman proud. That left one for each of them to handle and the two that were left seemed none two pleased the turn of events. In a flight of panic one swung a pitiful hay maker at the gargoyle which she easily ducked. Taking advantage of the unbalanced hood she grabbed him by the throat and threw him across the room. Surprisingly,when the remaining thug saw that his comrade had his clock cleaned his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fainted clean away. 

"Thanks for the help" said the gargoyle as she took a barbell and wrapped it around two of the commandos. 

"Hey no problem" said Sampson as he cuffed another two to a pipe. 

Without another word the female gargoyle charged out of the room.

"Hey what's the matter?" he yelled as he took off in pursuit. 

As the final words fell from his mouth he suddenly got the feeling that he didn't want to know. 

*****************************************************

There was no time to waste, no telling what Demona had done to Goliath during her absence. Elisa charged down the hall with to her surprise the officer in hot pursuit. 

"What's the matter?" he yelled. 

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you" said Elisa as she opened the doors to the stairs. 

"Hey, I've seen a gargoyle, metal robots and street punks armed like navy seals" , said the officer, "I'm willing to believe in the Loch Ness Monster right now" . 

Elisa let out a slight chuckle at his mention of the Loch Ness Monster. She, Goliath, Angela and Bronx just saved two of them from Sevarius only a month ago. 

"Alright, if we don't find the renegade gargoyle and stop her every human is going to die" , said Elisa,"and I don't just mean in the city, I mean the entire human race" . 

"How the devil is she going to do that!?" asked the officer in amazement.

"Magic, how else?" replied Elisa in a matter-of-fact tone. 

It was obvious he hadn't completely absorbed that but his dumbfoundedness wasn't the chief issue here. 

"We have to find out where she's going to cast the spell" ,said Elisa as she counted the floors as they climbed, "and I think I have an idea where" . 

The officer only looked at her in questioning gaze."She'd want to cast it someplace where she could get the best view of the chaos she created" said Elisa as she reached what she hoped was the right floor. 

"This renegade is a sick one isn't she?" he asked. 

"As sick as they come and maybe a bit more" said Elisa with a frown. 

As she took a quick peek out the door to look around. Instantly a laser beam streaked through the air and just barely singed Elisa's long black hair. Frightened momentarily by how close she came to getting her head shot off she quickly backpedalled into the stairwell. 

"Right floor!?" asked the officer as he cocked his gun. 

Still a bit upset by the deadly spotlight, all Elisa could do was nod. 

"So what do we do now?" , asked the officer, "no way we can stop that sick phsyco with that overgrown pea shooter out there".

Agreeing with him she checked her pockets and was surprised to find that the flare gun that Xanatos had given her back at the tower was still there.

"I have a plan" said Maza in a calm fashion. 

"What do you plan to do with that pop gun?!" exclaimed the officer. 

"Call reinforcements" she said as she made her way down one floor. 

Fortunately when she poked her head out this time there was no laser fire. Elisa quickly made her way to the nearest office and was thankful that it had a window. Smashing the window to pieces Elisa gave the officer a quizzical glance as she pointed to the window. 

"Hey, I didn't see a thing" he said with a smile. 

Taking careful aim she fired the flare gun and watched as the sky lit up like a giant light bulb. Smiling she gazed at the Xanatos tower and thought" ironic that the one person who can help us is the man I hate the most" . 

*****************************************

He had been waiting for hours and there had been no word from Goliath and the rest of his clan. Did they suspect that he would want the sphere and would rather be killed than allow him to get him hands on it. Xanatos had hoped that his rather generous reinstatement of them into castle Wyvern would have dispelled most of the doubts as to his feelings toward him.Maza was probably now trying to persuade him not to call for help. Not that he blamed the detective, had he been in her shoes he probably would have done the exact same thing. True if he had been in her shoes he would probably be a captain right now but that wasn't the point. Suddenly there was a bright flash of light and a small smoldering object began to slowly descend from the sky. 

Almost as if on cue Puck materialized and exclaimed"I knew Goliath wouldn't let us down!" 

Xanatos merely raised and eyebrow as he open up his Goliath battle armor. 

"You know you're as bad as the Sisters when it comes to humor and that isn't good" said a frowning Puck as he floated toward the window. 

"Where did the flare come from?" asked Xanatos as he clicked his helmet into place. 

"It came from the Nightstone building" , said Puck as he returned to his cheerful self, "apparently Demona is having a party and forgot to invite us". 

Pressing a button on the wall Xanatos watched as the window in front of Puck began to slide open. 

"Then what are we waiting for!?" asked Xanatos as he ignited his backpack and soared out the window. 

"Oooh a race!!" , exclaimed Puck,"this is going to be fun!" . 

Not a nanosecond later Puck vanished in a flicker of magic. 

*****************************************************************

"Unnh" groaned Goliath as Demona struck him in the stomach. 

She had waited a long time to do that to him. Ever since she returned to the castle a millennia ago she had wanted to punish him for his stupidity. A few years ago when she heard that the castle was to be moved to Xanatos she had first been enraged at the defilement. That rage had passed once Xanatos revealed to her the terms of the spell. The thought that she would soon be reunited with her beloved again filled her mind. She felt a joy she had not known for a long time, but that happiness was destroyed when she saw how Goliath acted. He still wanted to protect the humans, even after the destruction of his clan he wanted to protect them. When she heard him say he had to meet a human friend he had made she was shocked,even after she had tried to persuade him otherwise. Demona knew from that point on that he would oppose her and that he would have to be dealt with.Unfortunately getting rid of him was like trying to get rid of a stain,they always reappear just when you think they're gone. Suddenly the door swung open and two of the humans she had ordered to take care of Maza barged in. 

"Ms. Dominique, Ms. Dominique the other gargoyle has escaped", said the first nervously, "the cop we ran into set her free!"

"Impossible, I thought you and the rest were guarding her" , yelled Demona," ooohhh, that's what I get for sending a human to do a gargoyles job. Activate the security drones!" 

"Y-y-yes mam!" stammered the first guard as he followed the second more silent one out the door. 

Apparently she had made a mistake hiring common thugs for her commandos. She had thought that with the weaponry that she gave them they would be able to handle the simple task of dealing with Maza. Well the security drones should take care of her and once she was done with Goliath and his clan she would deal with the human race. 

********************************************

Sampson looked at his temporary partner and said to himself once more" it sure has been a weird night" . 

So far he had helped to quiet down a mob,got his car shot to hell trying to stop seal team-wannabe's and now he was helping a gargoyle stop genocide. Not that it had been any less weird before but compared to this all the rest was about as serious as jaywalking. Just a few minutes ago he had seen the gargoyle shoot a flare out the window and say that she was brining reinforcements. Sampson didn't know what those reinforcements were but he hoped that they were packing some heavy artillery. Suddenly he heard what sounded like a motorised wheelchair in the hallway. Being careful not to give whatever it was a large target he opened the door to the office and peeked out. 

"Holy shit!"he yelled as he ducked back in the office and closed the door. 

"What is it?" said the gargoyle. 

"We have company and it doesn't look to friendly" said Sampson. 

The puzzled gargoyle walked over the door and took a look for herself. Slamming the door shut the gargoyle looked at him as if saying 'you weren't kidding'. 

"Maybe we'll get lucky, maybe it won't come in here" said Sampson as he tried to produce a smile. 

That one ray of hope was shot to pieces as the door was riddled with laser fire. 

"Then again..!" said Sampson as he covered his head. 

The gargoyle dove out of the way of the lasers, which were missing her by inches. Both he and the gargoyle knew that they wouldn't last long if that robot got in here. 

"Any ideas?!" he asked as he shielded his face from the debris. 

"Only one" she said as she grabbed him by the arm. 

With little or no effort she slung him onto her back and yelled "Hang on!" 

For a moment he wondered what she had meant but all his questions were replaced with undeniable fear as she leaped out the window to the less than safe and less than solid open air. 

"I hope this works!" thought Elisa as her taloned feet left the solid office floor. 

She had never before had to carry a person like this when she was human much less as a gargoyle. 

"Well, there's no time like the present" mumbled Elisa and with a prayer she spread her wings once they cleared the window. 

At first they plummeted but only for a few seconds and then they soared high into the sky. 

"Had me worried there for a second!" said the officer as he loosened previously tight grip. 

Elisa was about to reply when she spotted the metal sides of the Nightstone building slide away to reveal steel-clan look-a-likes. There was one very drastic change that Maza noticed immediately, instead of the familiar Goliath form they now resembled Demona. 

"It's not over yet!" , exclaimed, "steel clanners at twelve 'o' clock high". 

The puzzled police officer looked behind them and mumbled a few curses that she didn't quite catch. 

"I've got to get him to safety" , thought Elisa, "there's no way I can fight those things with him on my back". 

Taking a quick look around and found nothing she could just dump him in. That meant that she had to land for a moment and let him, but that also meant being a better target for those walking scrap heaps for a few seconds. 

"No choice there" thought Elisa as she quickly went into a power dive. 

"What the hell are you doing?!" screamed the officer. 

As if to show him, just a few seconds before they were to slam into the roof and become scarlet pancakes she spread her wings and landed with a thud on the roof. 

"Stay here and stay out of sight!" ordered Elisa as her scarlet glowing eyes gazed back at the now three approaching steel Demonas, "I'll deal with our playmates!" 

Gathering what strength she had with her Elisa dove off the roof and unleashed all the gargoyle ferocity she could marshal at the moment. Like clockwork, just as she approached the robots they opened a compartment on their wrists to reveal lasers that looked amazingly like the ones on Xanatos' robots. 

"Demona, can't you think of anything original!?" asked Elisa sarcastically. 

As if in answer to her question two more lasers appeared but this time they were mounted on her shoulders. A second later the air became filled with laser fire and Elisa was barely able to dodge the scarlet beams of death. As she searched her memory for a tactic she noticed to her surprise that one of the robots had sneaked up behind her and was attempting to get a target lock on her. 

"Not tonight Demona!" said Elisa as she broke into a dive toward the Nightstone building wall. 

True to form the robot followed her into the dive still unable to get a stable target lock. Just as it appeared that she would become a pancake Elisa broke out of the dive and soar up parallel with the wall of concrete and steel. The Demona robot was not so lucky, just as it was about to turn away it slammed into the wall and exploded sending bits of debris to the street below. 

"One down, two to go!" said Elisa as she searched for the other two. 

Unfortunately the other two found her first, one had come up from behind and slammed all one and a half tons of itself into Elisa's back. This blow sent her for a loop and she crashed headfirst onto the exact roof she had just left. 

"Ohhh, I'm definitely not going to be able to work tomorrow night" mumbled Elisa as she tried to get her bearings. 

Out of nowhere a laser blast streaked out of nowhere and slammed her deep into the shingles on the roof. As she gazed up she saw the two remaining Demona robots hovering in the air in front of her with their lasers trained on her. A look of fear fell upon her face as she realised that death's hand was reaching out for her. Fortunately Death would be cheated that night as a crimson blast shot across the sky and went through one of the robots as though it were onion paper. Looking up to see where the laser had come from she saw a man whom she never expected in her life to be happy to see. Xanatos. As Xanatos approached the building he discovered that he was a bit on the late side as he saw Maza fighting for her life against three steel clan look-a-likes. 

"Hmmm, I'll have to have Owen file a lawsuit against Demona for patent infringment." thought Xanatos as he prepared to deploy his laser. 

Just as he had one of the robots in his sights he surprisingly retracted his laser and simply commanded his suit to hover on the spot for a while.

"What are you scheming Xanatos!?" asked Puck as he came to a stop next to the red steel clanner and copied the robots floating posture. 

"I'm just letting dear Maza test herself against these robots to see if I can spot any weakness'" , said Xanatos trying to sound nice, "If it turns out that she requires assistance I'd be only too happy to help her." 

"'Only too happy', 'dear Maza'!" , exclaimed Puck in shock, "Xanatos did you drink a snootful of the old 'vino' before we left?!" 

"No" , said Xanatos, "I haven't had a drop of alcohol since the baby was born." 

"Then you're up to something and I don't like it" said Puck with a questioning frown on his face. 

"Excuse me but our alcoholic anonymous meeting will have to wait"said Xanatos as he pointed at Maza's dazed form on a nearby roof. 

Not wasting another second Xanatos aimed his laser and sent a streak of light hurtling through the night sky and right through one of the robots. 

"Care to finish the last one?" asked Xanatos as he looked at Puck. 

"With pleasure. 'Little maiden made of steel, your appearance is truly surreal, your expression be like black tile, so long babe you're going to the scrap pile!" exclaimed Puck and almost instantly beams of green energy flew from his mouth and hit the robot straight in the back. 

At first it did nothing but with a little blow from Pucks mouth, it crumbled into a pile of junk on the roof where Maza was watching. 

"Well now that that is taken care of let's check on Elisa" said Xanatos as he began to fly toward the lady gargoyle who apparently was not as badly hurt as she appeared to be. 

As they approached they noticed another form moving toward her. 

"Who is that?" said Puck. 

"Hey are you O.K?" Sampson asked as he carefully approached the gargoyle.

"Yeah, nothing that a day of stone sleep won't cure" replied the gargoyle as she got to her feet. 

"You were amazing out there" , he exclaimed, "I bet if you weren't so banged up you could've taken on all three" . 

"Don't give me too much credit" , responded the gargoyle in a modest tone, "I'm surprised it took them as long as they did to knock me down" . 

"Don't be so hard on yourself Maza" , said a digitized voice from behind him, "you did a great job, I doubt Goliath could have done much better". 

When Sampson turned around he was surprised to see another steel gargoyle standing behind him, along with what looked like a small floating man with a maniacal grin on his face. 

"Who are you!?" Sampson asked as he backed up a bit. 

"That's not the issue here officer, we have got to get going, that little game bought Demona another few minutes", said the female gargoyle,"If we don't stop her soon she'll complete her insane scheme!" 

"Good Point. I'm afraid you'll have to excuse us officer but the detective and I have a sorceress to stop" said the lustrous gargoyle and with that final word it zoomed off toward the building. 

The female gargoyle was about to go and join them but Sampson couldn't let her leave just yet. 

He grabbed her shoulder and said" Where do you think you're going?". 

"I've got to help Xanatos, no way he can beat Demona on his own" she replied with a determined look. 

Sampson had seen that look on many a cop in his years in the force and knew that there was no way that he could persuade her otherwise. 

"Then at least take this with you" said Sampson as he took out his fully loaded pistol and passed it to her. 

She seemed a bit surprised by this act, though given what happened to her clan a thousand years ago he had expected it. 

"You understand this is just a loan until later of course" he said sarcastically as he put the gun in her hands. 

That last comment seemed to do the trick as she smiled and put the gun in her tight fitting jeans. With a simple thanks she jumped off the roof and glided after her strange friends. As she flew away he remembered something peculiar about what the robot gargoyle had said to the normal gargoyle. Something about her being a 'Detective' and her last name being 'Maza'?What did he mean by that? 

"Well I'll have to worry about that later" ,said Sampson with a sigh, "first I gotta get down off this dang roof" . 


	5. Twilight

"Bitter Sweet Occurrence" Chapter 5

By Ryley Breen AKA Shadow Master

Elisa was furious at Xanatos and if it wasn't for the fact that she needed his help if she was going to free Goliath and get back to normal she'd kill him right now. She caught up to him just as he arrived at the third last floor from the top. 

"Xanatos!" she yelled with eyes blazing red. 

"Yes Maza?" replied Xanatos in his normal suave tone. 

"Oh don't give me that!", she said, "Do you have any idea what kind of trouble you may have just caused me and Goliath?!" 

"Oh don't get your tail in an uproar Maza" ,said Xanatos, "I'm sure he didn't even catch a word I said and even if he did I'm sure that you'll think of something to tell him later" . 

As much as she hated to admit it Xanatos did have a bit of a point. In all the excitement, the attacks and action there was a chance that he didn't catch it. Elisa turned to Puck who at the moment was playing some sort of portable video game. 

"So Puck, care to tell us where the sphere is?" asked Elisa as she began circling him. 

"It's on this floor, where exactly I haven't got a clue" he said briefly looking up from his game. 

Elisa gave out sigh and said " well lets get a move on!" . 

With that she glided toward and crashed through an offices window, her wings covering her face. 

"She sure knows how to make an entrance, doesn't she?" said Xanatos with a short laugh as he followed the gargoyles example and flew into the building.

Puck merely shrugged and followed Xanatos, all the while playing his game. 

***********************************************

"Damn her!" cursed Demona as she saw the last of her steel clan fall to pieces. 

She had counted on Xanatos interfering but Puck was definitely another story. True the sphere of Titania had the power to vanquish them all, but who knew what effect that would have on her goal to obliterate humanity. Still this did mean she would have to step up her plans a bit.As she strolled back into the chamber, Goliath and his clan were futily trying to rip through their ropes. 

"I don't know why you bother" , she said sarcastically as she knelt next to Goliath's side, "Even you must know that it's impossible for you to break out of those restraints." 

With a slight groan of frustration Goliath stopped struggling and said" You won't get away with this Demona, Elisa will stop you and if not her perhaps Xanatos!" 

"Hmph, spare me the hopeless bravado Goliath" , snorted Demona as she went over to her main prize, "Maza never has been and never will be a threat and as for Xanatos he won't be able to do anything soon." 

As if holding an egg, Demona took the sphere and held it in her arms and began to chant in a language so ancient it didn't have any real meaning anymore.Slowly, the smell of brimstone and death filled the air as the floor vanished beneath a blanket of fog. As Demona chanted the magical green light within the sphere began to glow brighter with every word. 

"Uh-oh!" ,said Brooklyn as he gazed in horror at the glowing orb, "If anybody has any suggestions as to how to stop this, they had better spit it out now or forever hold their peace." 

The room remained silent for nobody in the group, not even Goliath had a sliver of an idea about what could be done.Slowly Demona's chanting came to a halt and she placed the sphere back on its place on the pedestal. 

"I've decided to change my plans a bit, I've decided to kill you all first then destroy humanity" said Demona as began to walk towards the door. 

Suddenly the doors of the room exploded and wooden shrapnel flew every where. When the smoke and debris cleared two gargoyle and one floating figure stood in the doorway. 

"Destroy every human in the world just to satisfy your thirst for vengeance and kill Goliath and his clan in the process!" said the large red and gray steel form. 

"I don't think so!" said the smaller feminine gargoyle. 

For a moment all that they did was stand there, looking at each other as if trying to interpret the meaning of the words. Then it happened, with the suddenness of a crack of thunder, the crack of a gun or a flash of light all hell broke loose. Elisa's anger at Xanatos soon subsided as she pondered what would happen when they arrived at where ever Demona was planning to cast the spell.Demona probably had Goliath tied and bound there, there was no way that she would want him to miss her ultimate triumph. When they arrived it would be Puck's job to get the sphere and and get out of there. She and Xanatos would be the ones to deal with whatever offensive plans Demona may have in store for them. 

"Funny, I try since the day I discovered what he was really like to put him behind bars" , thought Elisa, "and here I am trusting him to watch my back against a former ally, weird" . 

"Believe me detective when I say that he feels the same way about this as you do" whispered Puck as he glided alongside her. 

She found it even more peculiar that she actually trusted Puck on this mission. The dark elf wasn't really known for his ability to focus on one thing at a time. Back when he had turned her into a gargoyle as a joke on Demona he must have been thinking about a half dozen things at one time. More recently he had used his powers of subterfuge to make it harder then necessary to help Coldstone.This disturbed Elisa a bit but her thoughts on the subject were swept aside when she heard Demona's sick voice in the room at the end of the hall. 

She turned to Xanatos and said" I hope your not entertaining any thoughts of letting Demona kill Goliath and the rest of us just so you can get the sphere". 

"Who, me!?" , he replied in a tone of innocence, "don't worry Maza, tonight I'm putting all personal scores aside". 

Maza wasn't sure she actually trusted him right now but she couldn't really afford to reject his help now. 

Once they reached the doors Xanatos stepped back and in a gentlemanly tone said " Ladies first". 

Making a slight sarcastic grin Elisa took a few steps back then charged at the door throwing all one hundred and seventy pounds into the door. The door shattered into pieces and flew in all directions. She took a quick look at Xanatos and could have sworn that she saw his brown right eyebrow rise in surprise. 

Taking his normal position ahead of Elisa said "Destroy every human in the world just to satisfy your thirst for vengeance and destroy Goliath and his clan in the process!" 

Taking her cue Elisa took out the pistol and said" I don't think so!". 

Suddenly tentacles of energy erupted from the orb and wrapped around the seven captured gargoyles. Hesitating for less than a second dove across the room and after opening a secret panel and took out one of the laser rifles that she had stolen from Xanatos. 

"Oh but I do!"she said with a sinister grin and fired a shot at her and Xanatos. 

"Its times like these that make my immortal life worth living!" said Puck as he flew quickly across the room toward Goliath. 

As he approached the gargoyle leader he couldn't help but laugh a bit, this was hardly one of Goliath's better moments. 

"Puck, help me get free" screamed Goliath with with pain and his eyes glowing a particularly bright white. 

"Are you sure you want me to help you?" , said Puck with a phony look of concern, "It might make you look bad in front of your clan!" 

The only reply that the trickster got was a rather loud but undoubtably angry gargoyle growl.

"O.k, o.k! Don't get your tail in a knot, sheesh ask a gargoyle a simple question!" exclaimed Puck as a pair of cable cutters appeared in his hands and he began cutting away the steel cables. Just then a laser shot whisked past Puck's side burns singing it a dark black. 

"Hey! I just had those done a century ago!" , exclaimed Puck in annoyance, "I guess I'll just have to do something about those laser things". 

With a sly grin on his face Puck floated a few feet away from the writhing Goliath and cracked each of his knuckles (assuming he has any to begin with). 

"Modern weapons cause afire, making this fight dire, and even though I love you tons, I divest you now of your laser guns" chanted Puck and instantly green energy shot out of Pucks eyes and vaporized both Demona's and Xanatos' lasers. 

"Ooops, sorry Xanatos" said Puck in a modest tone of voice. 

Given the growl that came from the deranged gargoyle it was obvious that Demona's dislike of Puck just went up a notch. 

"So glad you liked it Demona!" , said Puck with a smirk, "Now back to Goliath, hope I didn't keep you waiting long" .

Goliath only screamed in agony as the energy of the orb coursed though his body as the changeling approached him. He only gave Puck one of the iciest stares he'd been given in a long while. 

*********************************

"Yes!" exclaimed Elisa as she saw Demona's rifle disappear into thin air.

That would certainly make things a lot easier. 

"Fools, you think me easy prey just because I no longer have my laser rifle" , snarled Demona, "Is till have the most powerful weapon in all existence". 

At that moment Elisa knew exactly what she meant and the only thought that came to her was"Halapania". 

Demona dove towards the sphere and had almost reached it when Xanatos' steel clad fist intercepted her face. 

"Ooops, pardon my fist!" said Xanatos with a laugh. 

He was obviously enjoying himself and Elisa had to admit that she was as well. When she gazed down at Demona she actually looked as if she would surrender, but she should have known better. With surprising speed Demona whipped out the same type of electro-disk Elisa had seen used by Thailog. Xanatos screamed as his exo-frame was shot with thousands of volts of electricity. Not wasting anytime Demona leaped up to the pedestal in the center of the room and picked up the sphere, which was now glowing a bright green. Not wanting Demona to get a chance to use that orb of destruction Elisa launched herself at Demona, teeth bared and eyes glowing blood red. Suddenly a bolt of green energy shot out of the sphere and stuck Elisa on the chest and sent her flying across the room. 

"Fool, you think that just because you're a gargoyle that you're a match for me" ranted Demona looking down at Elisa.

"No, she is a match for you because she has friends she knows she can count on" said a voice behind Demona. 

The sick gargoyle whirled around to see Goliath charging like a mad bull directly for her. 

"Good, if Goliath can move than Demona's spell must have stopped and the others will be o.k" thought Elisa as she shook the cob webs out of her head. 

Unfortunately,Goliath may be a match for Demona under normal circumstances but these were far from normal. Just as Elisa thought Goliath would connect with Demona,a bolt of green energy rammed him in the stomach and sent him flying back against the wall. 

"Hahaha, finally, the mighty Goliath falls before the one true gargoyle" raved Demona as she laughed the laugh of the mad.

Suddenly there came a roar from behind Demona turned to see Elisa Maza sprinting like a bat out of hell towards her. Without so much as a word a bolt of green lightning streaked out of the sphere and sent Maza flying across the room not stopping until she hit the wall, and she hit it hard.Falling to the ground in a heap, Demona smiled as she observed no movement from the fallen gargoyle. 

"Hahaha, finally revenge shall be mine" , raved Demona, "the human filth will perish and I shall rule the world, a world of gargoyles!" 

**************************************

Puck didn't like the way this was turning out, not one little bit. He had assumed that Goliath would be able to handle Demona, mostly because he had never failed to stop her before. 

"Well I guess its true what they say, if you want a job done right you have to do yourself" thought Puck as he moved into position for an attack. 

"Well Demona I must say that you've shown me that you're quite good at handling mortals" , said Puck as he hovered up to the ceiling with his patented trickster grin, "Let's see how you do against a son of Oberon". 

"Yes Puck, lets!" said Demona in a sinister tone. 

No surprise that Demona attacked first, she was always the aggressor in any confrontation, fortunately her aim was rather pitiful. 

"Tsk, Tsk. You know Demona you really should have killed Maza when you had the chance" , said Puck as he stealthy dodged her blows, "If it hadn't been for her we might never have labeled you as the perpetrator". 

Suddenly a devilish grin came over Demona's face and that made Puck's smile slipped a little and began worry a bit. Suddenly he knew what Demona was going to do and at that instant a bolt of green energy shot out towards the fallen detective.

"Tis' she you wish to slay, to complete your devilish play, but her you can forget, for tis her my powers protect!" chanted Puck and at a speed faster than light his magical energy darted across the room and deflected away from Maza. 

Unfortunately that gambit had cost Puck dearly as it took nearly half his energy to prevent the powerful magical attack. He didn't have time to spare if he was going to take out Demona it would have to be now. 

"Godly power do you possess, to cause all mortals great distress, but before Oberon I call and beseech, my full magical force on you I unleash!" exclaimed Puck and with surprising strength he unleash a funnel of unmeasurable power on the twisted gargoyle. 

For the longest while it was impossible to see Demona for the entire room was filled with green light. Puck stained to direct as much of his power as he could but even his power reserves were had limits. Slowly, the light that filled the room began to fade and things began to return to the norm. With all his energy drained Puck dropped to the floor like a rock, he had barely enough energy to give himself a soft landing. 

"Ohhh, Halapania! I haven't felt this bad since I went a few rounds with Oberon over control of the civil war" , said Puck as he rubbed his aching head, "at least Demona is gone, now I can get that blasted sphere and get out of here". 

"Oh, I don't think so hahaha!" came a voice from across the room. 

Puck's jaw literally dropped to the ground as he gazed in the direction of the frightening voice, it was Demona! He didn't even get a chance to reply as the orb sent a powerful torrent of energy sailing at Puck. Racked with pain as the energy hit him, Puck tried with all his might to fight it but it was no use. 

"Hahaha, how does it feel to have to go through pain against your wishes" , yelled Demona as she laughed fanatically, "I think that when Goliath wakes up, I'll try it on him except for him and then every other human!" 

"NOOO!" came a cry from across the room and almost immediately three gunshots rang out. 

Instantly the crystal shattered and fell to the ground and the torrent of energy focused on Puck ceased, though in his case it was hardly a cause to rejoice. Every part of his immortal body screamed for relief and the mind answered as the world around him slowly began to grow dark. Just as the last bit of consciousness faded from Puck's head gazed over to where the shots were fired and felt a hint of shock. There, on her knees and a smoking pistol in her hand was a crying and shocked Elisa Maza. Elisa's body was saturated with agony and her mind begged to be released from this torture. 

**********************************************

"Just let me die, life hurts so much!" , thought Elisa as her mind began to shut down, "all the pain and suffering and I'm helpless to do anything about it!". 

"Are you truly helpless Elisa Maza?"came a voice from the void of darkness before her. 

"What!? Whose there!?"thought Elisa. 

Slowly an image began to form in the darkness, an image that at first she didn't recognize. 

"Surely you remember your last visit to Avalon Elisa" said the face with a slight grin. 

Then it hit Elisa and at that moment her being was filled with shock and at the same time gratitude. 

"Titania!" thought Elisa. 

"Your mind is as quick as I had hoped but we cannot talk long" , said Titania as the rest of her body appeared, "Puck is managing to keep Demona busy but he doesn't stand a chance against the power of the sphere." 

"Then that's it then, Demona has won" thought Elisa in a sad somber tone. 

"Has she?" said Titania in a familier tone of voice much associated with Oberon's kind. 

"Of course she has, there's no way to stop her as long as she has the sphere!" thought Elisa. 

"Exactly! You have done well Elisa" , said Titania with a grin , "not only have you deduced what must be done but also deep down how to do it" . 

"What do you mean?!" asked Elisa. 

"You know. Now hurry back to the land of the living for Puck's power is shattered and he is losing" , said Titania as she faded into the dark void, "remember Elisa, the fate of the entire human race hangs in the balance" . 

"Wait don't go, what do I do?"thought Elisa in a desperate cry. 

Sadly in was too late and once more she was alone with only her thoughts and her pain to comfort her. For what seemed like an hour Elisa pondered Titania's words. 

"I don't know exactly what she meant but she was right about one thing" , thought Elisa, "the lives of billions rests on my shoulders, I owe them to at least give it a try, even if it is suicide!" 

Not a heartbeat later Elisa began her painful struggle to break out of the black void and back to the real world.At first it seemed to be a futile effort but as the battle between light and dark raged on the light seemed to grow stronger. Slowly but surely the light was winning and Elisa's senses began to return to her. At first it was all a jumble but it quickly came into focus as Elisa heard Demona's dreadful voice. Slowly she regained her bearings and looked around and saw Demona hitting Puck with a massive emerald tube of energy. 

"How does it feel to go through pain against your wishes" , raved Demona, "I think that when Goliath wakes up, I'll try it on him and every other human!" 

At that exact moment Elisa saw a vision in her minds eye of everyone she ever cared about. Derek, mom, dad, her sister, Captain Chavez, Matt and several others writhing in agony while Demona stood over them. Then came the last one and this one hit with the force of a freight train. Elisa saw with his limbs flailing around in spasms of pain and screaming in agony, Goliath.

With a surge of emotion that she hadn't felt in a long time, Elisa raised her gun and screamed" NOOO!". 

Elisa rapidly pulled the trigger and watched as the muzzle flash, and the little specks of gray shoot toward the target she had picked without thinking, the sphere. With a resounding crash the sphere shattered in Demona's hand and clattered to the ground,the energy previously channeled at Puck surged and with one final flash disappeared. Almost instantly as the last sparkle of magic sputtered away Demona dropped to her knees and holding her now bleeding hands. Completely distraught over having victory ripped from her grasp after coming so close,Demona jumped to her feet and charged past Elisa and ran down the hall screaming with rage. 

It had taken her a few moments before she realized what she had just done.Elisa threw the gun away like it was red hot and let out a shrill cry that they say could be heard a mile away. Then she stopped and knelt there,then slowly she got to her feet and walked to the remains of the sphere of Titania. Looking down at the shards of glittering crystal, Elisa began to sob, bent down and picked up one of the shards of crystal. Elisa concentrated on it, as if hoping that by some sheer miracle there might be just enough magic left to restore her to human form. Sadly the power that had once filled the sphere was gone and with it her last chance to regain her humanity. No more drinking cool lemonade during the hot summer days,no more shopping for clothes and no more being treated the same as any other being. Letting the shard fall from her hands and shatter onto the floor Elisa gazed about the room, searching for some clue as to her purpose for living. All she could see was the unconscious bodies of Goliath and his clan and Xanatos beginning to come to. For a moment she felt that she just wanted to curl up and die, but then a thought came to her. She remembered what Goliath had said after his encounter with Coldstone at the bridge. He had said that a gargoyles purpose in life was to protect, to protect their home and the people who lived there. As she slowly looked down at her battered and bruised gargoyle body she discovered the purpose she was longing for. She was now a gargoyle, just like Goliath and the rest and thus their cause was now her own. 

Filled with newfound purpose Elisa smiled and all thoughts and feelings of despair were pushed back.Looking at what she had lost and what she had gained Elisa could honestly say that all in all it wasn't so bad. With that thought in her mind Elisa began to go around and try and wake her injured clan. 

It had taken a while but Elisa eventually was able to bring the other gargoyles around. She hadn't hurried to wake Xanatos though, Elisa wanted the few moments without his scheming voice to last. The police arrived as soon as could be expected and everyone agreed that it would be best if they didn't stick around to answer any questions. Not because they didn't have any answers but because the cops would never believe them. Once they got back to the castle Elisa helped get the trio down to the infirmary, even though they all protested as to the severity of the injuries. Elisa didn't stay with them long, she had a lot to think about and she felt better if she pondered it in private. By the time she reached the main tower she could see the first glimmers of the new day brighten up the sky. It would still be another hour or so before she turned to stone. Elisa smiled at how casually she had said that, given the fact that she had only done it once. 

"This will certainly be a change from my normal routine" , thought Elisa as she gazed down with a grin at the city below her, "but with a little help I think that I can bear it" . 

True, tieing up all the loose ends of her previous life wasn't going to be easy but considering what dangers she had faced tonight it didn't worry her at all. 

********************************************************

Goliath groaned as Angela wrapped the last of the bandages around his chest. 

"Oh don't be such a wimp father!" she said comically. 

He looked at Angela and was surprised that she could joke around after Demona had almost destroyed the human race. After the clan was all bandaged up they proceeded out to the tower to assume their normal positions for the day.It wasn't long after that that Goliath remembered what important event had happened. With the Sphere destroyed Elisa was forever trapped in her gargoyle form. She now had to bear the burdens that up until know were he and his clan alone had to bear. Part of him rejoiced at this development but the other half didn't feel that way at all. The clan seemed to sense his storm of emotions and showed that they too felt them, but no one said anything. Once they reached the courtyard Goliath looked up and saw Elisa's silhouetted form atop the tower. He looked at the shape of his former human friend and knew that the next few weeks would be the hardest for her. 

Hudson came up behind him and said "Don't worry lad, if there's one thing I've learned about Elisa is that no matter what it is, she always manages". 

Goliath only nodded, then proceeded up the winding stairs to his perch. He knew that she would get over it in time, but he couldn't help think that she might hold some resentment towards him for not trying harder. Once he reached the top of the stairs Elisa turned and faced him,for some weird reason she was smiling. Goliath didn't know whether this was a good thing or a bad so he slowed as he approached her. As he got upon the rampart he felt her taloned hand on his shoulder and he turned with a questioning look on his face. 

"Don't worry, I don't blame you for what happened" , she said reassuringly, "what's done is done and we have to move on." 

Elisa's words soothed his troubled soul but he knew that he would feel this guilt for the rest of his life. Taking his place on the rampart he contently watched Elisa jump onto the rampart next to him. At seeing this Goliath knew it would be alight and happily took a fierce looking pose. Glancing out of the corner of his eye he saw Elisa take quite a different pose, the pose matching his thinker pose. Before he could comment on this the bright sun peeked over the horizon and stone sleep took over. Had he stayed awake a moment longer he would have seen a solitary tear trickle down Elisa's cheek. 

*************************************

"Ohhhh" moaned Puck as he dragged himself into Owen's room. 

He was so weak he didn't even have enough strength to change back into Owen Burnett.That little gambit against Demona was nearly the death of him. Had he been at full strength he probably could have weathered the cynical gargoyle's attack fairly well. Normally he would have let Maza fend for herself but she was too important to the future of the human-gargoyle situation. True,he wasn't supposed to know about that but if Oberon or Titania asked about it later he was sure that he could think up a half decent excuse. Just then it hit him and he laid down on the bed and remembered his mission.Titania would not be in a good mood when she came to check on him. She had undoubtably felt the destruction of the sphere on Avalon and will want to know how it came about. 

"Oh well, I can worry about that when she gets here" , thought Puck, "right now I've got to get some rest if Owen Burnett is going to keep his job" . 

"Right now I'd be more worried about Oberon's anger Puck" snapped an angry voice from the doorway. 

Almost wishing that Demona had finished him off Puck sat up and saw Titania in the doorway with a look of anger all her own. 

"Mother, what a pleasant surprise, I didn't expect to see you so soon!" exclaimed Puck as he got to his feet. 

"You can stop trying to talk your way out of this Puck because it's not going to work" said Titania as she rolled her eyes to the back of her head. 

Puck knew that when kissing up to the parents didn't work, outright honesty was the next best thing. 

"Look I know you're upset at this recent development but it's not as bad as it looks!" , said Puck trying to manage a smile, "Elisa Maza is alright, the human race is alright, Demona is most definitely not alright and I'm alright. What more could you ask for?!" 

This seemed to anger Titania more so then before but then she broke into a wide smile.Puck was unsure if this was a good thing or not but he knew that one way or the other he would soon find out. 

"Don't worry Puck, you're not in any trouble" , said Titania as she sat down in a nearby chair, "In fact your actions have just insured the security of this mortal world". 

Puck had expected Titania to say a lot of things but none of his guesses came even close to this. 

"What do you mean 'insured the security of this world'?"asked Puck with a priceless look of surprise on his face. 

"Oh you'll find out soon enough, suffice it to say that Elisa Maza is not as weak and insignificant as she believes herself to be" said Titania with the wide smile still streaming across her face. 

Puck was about to ask for the details but before he could get even a word out Titania disappeared in a flash of green light. Puck frowned at this impolite exit and thought that he would have to get even with her for keeping him in the dark. Oh, he didn't mind seeing other people not having a clue as to what's going on but he hated it when he was as clueless as they were. With a sigh of frustration Puck laid back on the bed and began to ponder what the "Queen Of The Third Race" meant by her remark about Maza. Whatever it meant he had a feeling that he would find out soon enough.

**_The End?_**


End file.
